Did you know there are 31 thousand different kinds of daffodil (aka narcissus)? The flower is mostly known for the yellow variety that brings the UK its first burst of colour when the seasons change. But there are also rare pink, white and ‘bonfire’ yellow blooms to look out for.
Now the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has launched a ‘daffodil diaries’ project, asking people to join a hunt for the rarest daffodils of them all and help them avoid extinction.
The RHS is hoping to create a map of the flowers with help from members of the public who log where daffodils are flowering in their area and provide info like its colour, type and height. That data will enable the charity to further understand the plant and identify the varieties most at risk of disappearing.
Varieties that RHS is particularly interested in are the Mrs William Copeland, a fully white, double-flowered breed; the Mrs R.O. Backhouse, which has a coral pink trumpet and ivory flower and the Sussex bonfire, a vibrant double-flowered yellow and orange daffodil that hasn’t been seen since 1998.
The hunt has also been launched to commemorate 100 years since daffodils were saved by a guy called James Kirkham Ramsbottom. In 1924 he was awarded the Barr Memorial for developing a treatment against eelworms, a disease that threatened to completely wipe the flower out.
RHS’s daffodil hunt is running from February 12 to St David’s Day on March 1 (when the flowers are traditionally worn to celebrate the patron saint of Wales). If you spot any out in the wild, be sure to log them on the RHS daffodil diaries website.
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