Nobody ever says “I should have planted fewer narcissus bulbs” when the flowers start blooming in springtime. With their cheery bobbing heads, these happy harbingers of spring lift your spirits when nothing else in the garden has yet dared to declare victory over winter.
Narcissus—or do you say daffodil?—is one of the most familiar flowers in any garden or supermarket. I defy you to find one person who can’t identify a yellow narcissus (or even a white one). And yet there’s so much more to know. We could spend a week on jonquils alone! Let’s get started, with 10 things nobody tells you about Narcissus:
1. Narcissus and daffodil are the same flower (despite what snobs say).
Daffodil is the common name of Narcissus (a Latin word), and therein lies the daffodil’s image problem. It sounds more highfalutin to invoke Latin. When snobs say they don’t like daffodils, what they may be trying to say is they don’t care for the looks of the big, yellow, common varieties of Narcissus sold in supermarkets. That unloved trumpet flower, by the way, is Narcissus pseudonarcissus.
Read more on this topic in Order the World’s Best Narcissi Online: But Please, Don’t Call Them Daffodils.
2. There are 40 different species of Narcissus—and thousands of varieties.
Jonquils are also narcissi, in case you were wondering. Varieties of the species is Narcissus jonquilla are known for their small, delicate flowers and intense fragrance.