Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Cantabrian daffodils




Daffodils have yet to make an appearance in the open garden, but in the protected cold frame several of the tiny white-flowered hoop petticoat daffodils are starting to bloom. The parents of these plants grow wild in Spain and north Africa. The nomenclature in this group is… euphemisms fail me…a mess. Some of the names I’ve seen are ridiculous. For now I’m keeping records of my sources and the “as received” names. And I’m still waiting for someone to sort it all out.


In the meantime, let's just enjoy them.

1 comment:

Pablo said...

Hi,
Thank you for sharing your garden through this blog.
This genus is certainly very confusing. Many varieties don't have a clear boundary, forming intermediate forms instead. This one seems to be in between N. Bulbocodium and N. Cantabricus - which curiously doesn't come from Cantabria, where I live, but from Toledo and surrounding areas of southern Spain and the Atlas mountains in north Africa. Here's a link with photographs of this form showing the range of variations: http://www.biodiversidadvirtual.org/herbarium/Narcissus-neocarpetanus-Rivas-Ponce-Soriano-amp-Fern.-Casas.-img139634.html
The nomenclature is still a mess, but at least you know where your bulbs came from!
I hope I didn't bore you too much.