Daffodils
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Wild yellow daffodils ( Narcissus pseudonarcissus ) in the Perlenbachtal |
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The daffodils ( Narcissus ) constitute a genus within the subfamily of Amaryllidoideae within the family of Amaryllidaceae family (Amaryllidaceae). The species Narcissus pseudonarcissus is often called the daffodil . The natural distribution center is in southwest Europe and northwest Africa . Only a few species are found in the coastal area of the eastern Mediterranean. Within the genus or system of narcissi, a distinction is made between 52 and 85 species and hybrids, depending on the author.
Daffodils have been important in Central European gardening since the so-called oriental phase from 1560 to 1620, when they entered garden culture together with tulips and hyacinths . Today there are more than 24,000 forms of culture. In late winter and spring, daffodils are one of the most important plants in the flower trade.
etymology
The name narcissus is derived from the Greek word νάρκειν narkein , which means "to numb" (cf. anesthesia ). The white or poet's daffodil , which also grows in Greece , actually gives off a very intense and numbing smell. The Romans adopted the Greek plant name νάρκισσος as narcissus . In his Metamorphoses, Ovid described the legend of the young man Narcissus and described the plant so clearly that it was without a doubt what is now called a narcissus. When Carl von Linné created his binary system of plant names ( binomials ), he kept the word Narcissus . The name Narcissus poeticus for the poet's narcissus was first used by Matthias Lobelius .
Description and ecology
Appearance
Narcissus species are perennial herbaceous plants that reach heights of growth of 5 to 80 centimeters, depending on the species. One of the "dwarfs" among the daffodils is Narcissus asturiensis , which is 5 to 8 centimeters high. One of the largest species is the Italian daffodil , which is seldom grown in Central Europe and has inflorescence shafts up to 80 centimeters long.
Onions
As Überdauerungsorgane Daffodil species form bulbs . The bulb base of daffodils is formed by a cork-like base plate. From this arise the suction roots, which are located in a ring on the outer edge and can be up to 40 centimeters long. When the plant pulls in its leaves in midsummer, these suction roots are also broken down.
From the third year on, seedlings also develop traction roots . These shorten by several millimeters in the course of a growing season and are therefore able to pull the bulbs deeper into the ground. The onion grows from the inside out, so that the onion skins formed in the previous year are pushed outwards. These turn brown and become dry, so that they surround the onion as a protective, but loose-fitting peel that protects against dehydration. Wild species in particular can develop a large number of such onion skins. Some natural species have counted up to 60.
The flower stem develops on the bulb base, on which the flower system of the following spring is present in a budding state. Around it there are two to three leaves and sheath leaves. The flower stem and the flower arrangement of the year after next are in the axilla of the second leaf.
Foliage leaves
The shape of the leaves of narcissus species range from linear to belt-shaped. In some species, the leaves look almost grass-like or they are even stalk-round. Large-flowered daffodils have three, in rare cases even four, leaves. Onions that are not yet capable of flowering, on the other hand, usually only form two leaves. The leaves have a thick, heavily cutin -containing cuticle . This gives them a smooth, waxy surface.
In most species, the leaves protrude beyond the inflorescence stem when fully grown. In a few species, the leaves bend towards the ground during flowering. At the lower end, just above the ground, the leaves are surrounded by two colorless sheath leaves. The leaf color varies between medium green and blue-green. In spring-blooming daffodils, the leaves turn yellow in midsummer and die off as soon as the seeds ripen: the plants "move in", as the gardeners say.
Inflorescences and flowers
Narcissus species have leafless and undivided inflorescence stems. The shape of the inflorescence stem depends on the species. Some species have slightly compressed inflorescence shafts with a clearly visible keel. In other species the inflorescence stem is round. Basically, the inflorescence stem is upright and is located in the middle of the leaves, as the apical meristem first creates the leaves and then the flower. The inflorescence stem is hollow in the upper part and increasingly filled with a spongy tissue towards the bulb. In a few species such as Narcissus hedraeanthus , the inflorescence stem is inclined.
The strongly compressed, racemose inflorescences appear golden and contain one to twenty flowers. The bracts are spathe-like and envelop the flower buds.
The hermaphrodite flowers are threefold. The flower color of the narcissus species ranges from white to yellow to orange. As is customary with monocotyledonous plants, the inflorescence is not divided into calyx and crown , but consists of bloom cladding sheets that look the same. One speaks therefore of a perigon with six tepals ( tepals ). In addition, daffodils have a side crown.
The shape of the flower is very variable. The tepals - hereinafter also referred to collectively as the main crown - can, depending on the type, be at right angles to the flower axis, lean forward or be turned back. The latter is particularly typical of the cyclamen daffodils and the varieties derived from them. In some species, such as the crinoline daffodil , the main crown is very small and inconspicuous. The attraction of these daffodils lies in the dominant side crown.
The secondary crown (sometimes also called Paracorollar) was formed in the course of the development of the daffodil flower from the stamens present in the flower . These grew together to form a tubular structure. Dust bags that were initially still attached to the inside were reduced. In the course of further development, the flower formed new stamens. The remaining side crown forms intensely smelling fragrances at its base, which is why it is also known as a scent mark. Because of this function, the secondary crown encourages potential pollinators to visit the flower. The secondary crown was and is the goal of intensive breeding work and, depending on its length, forms a trumpet, a cup or a bowl or, as with the poet's daffodil, is very much receded.
The flower contains six stamens and a pistil with a three- scarred pen . In most species, each of the ovary chambers contains 12 ovules .
Fruits and seeds
Three-chamber capsule fruits with numerous seeds develop from fertilized flowers . In most species the capsule fruit contains a maximum of 36 seeds; in a few species, such as the crinoline daffodil , the number of seeds is higher. However, none of the species forms more than 60 seeds. Seeds take about five to six weeks to mature. The ripe seeds of the daffodils of the Jonquillae and Bulbocodium sections are wedge-shaped and matt black, while the other sections are oblong and glossy black.
The capsule fruits is gap capsules , which at maturity at the back seams each carpel tear. These capsules are accordingly also referred to as spinal or vertical cleft or as loculicidal . Daffodils are wind and animal spreaders . A gust of wind or the movement of a passing animal is enough to let the seed fall out of the capsule fruit.
distribution
Daffodils were originally native to southern Europe, with the main distribution center on the Iberian Peninsula . From there, some species made the leap across the Strait of Gibraltar and now also colonize the north-west African coast . The autumn flowering Narcissus elegans , for example, can be found today on the coast from Morocco to Libya . It is also found on the coasts of Corsica , Sardinia and Italy . The same applies to the crinoline daffodil ( Narcissus bulbocodium ), which occurs in North Africa in a narrow range from Tangier to Algiers . It also has a disjoint distribution area between Tangier and Marrakech and can also be found on the western Iberian Peninsula. On the other hand, Narcissus serotinus has colonized the coasts of the entire Mediterranean region . The tazette can also be found in Iran and Kashmir . Since this type of daffodil is one of the earliest cultivated and cultivated daffodils, one must assume that it was introduced at least in Kashmir.
Especially large-scale distribution areas have the poet narcissus ( Narcissus poeticus ) and as a daffodil known Narcissus pseudonarcissus on. The distribution area of the poet's daffodil extends in an easterly direction from the Pyrenees along the Romanian Carpathians to the Black Sea and along the Dinaric coast to Greece . The daffodil comes from the Iberian Peninsula over the Vosges to northern France and Belgium and has also made the leap to Great Britain , where there are still wild stocks in southern Scotland . The only occurrence in Luxembourg is near Lellingen, a district of the municipality of Kiischpelt . In Germany , it is above all the Perlenbach-Fuhrtsbachtal nature reserve and the Eifel National Park , where in spring, not far from Monschau, you come across meadows with the yellow-blooming wild daffodils. One of the easternmost deposits can be found in Misselberg near Nassau an der Lahn .
The vast majority of narcissus species have only a very small distribution area compared to the above-mentioned species. The distribution areas of the species overlap and form natural hybrids in these places . For example, near the Portuguese city of Porto, there is a region where both the daffodil and Narcissus triandrus occur. There are various crosses of the two species. In a small section along the Portuguese river Montego , on the other hand, you can find crossings between Narcissus scaberulus and Narcissus triandrus .
Location requirements
The location requirements of the individual types of daffodils are very variable. However, they predominantly prefer acidic soils; a few species, however, also grow on lime, others, such as Narcissus scaberulus , grow on granite soils that are very humid during the growing season but dry out completely in the summer months. Even Narcissus dubius thrives only in regions with hot and dry summers.
The daffodil, which also grows wild in Germany, appreciates lime-free, light locations on mountain meadows or in mixed forests of fir , beech , oak , alder , ash and birch and prefers a well-drained stand in small groups.
Diseases and pests
Virus and fungal diseases
Viral diseases are occasionally transmitted to daffodils, especially through aphids , which change the color and shape of the leaves. These include daffodil mosaic , daffodil gray virus , brown spots and silver peeling . These diseases are only problematic in nurseries that specialize in daffodils, as aphids rarely infest daffodils. The growth inhibitions that can be triggered by the viral diseases can cause considerable economic damage.
On the other hand, onion basal rot , caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. narcissi- caused disease in which the bulbs rot and the daffodil leaves turn yellow well before the normal time. Infested plants must be removed immediately, as the fungus can remain in the ground for several years. No more daffodils should be planted in the places where diseased daffodils have stood for the next five years. However, some species of daffodil and the varieties derived from them are resistant to these fungi. These include the angel's tear daffodils , the tazettes and the jonquilles . Infestation with the Botrytis narcissicola mold also leads to the loss of the onions. It mainly arises from improper storage. Nurseries make do with products containing copper sulphate or burn heavily infected onions.
The fungus Sclerotinia polyblastis , on the other hand, does not attack the bulbs, but forms small watery or brown spots on the flower buds and cut stems. This disease is particularly threatening for commercial cultivation, as it can lead to the complete failure of the cut flower harvest, especially in damp weather. The mold Ramularia vallisumbrosae , which only occurs in warmer regions , also causes leaf damage. It leads to grayish or yellowish spots on the leaves. The fungus Stagonospora curtisii, on the other hand, leads to brownish leaf tips or brownish spots on the leaves. Both of the latter fungi only attack the leaves. The onions are not attacked. With the fungus radopasty leksose , the leaf tips become brownish, and leaf growth is restricted.
Animal pests
There are three types of fly whose larvae damage daffodil bulbs. These are the large daffodil fly ( Merodon equestris ) and the two species of flies Eumerus tuberculatus and Eumerus strigatus , both of which are referred to in German as the small daffodil fly . The flies lay their eggs at the bottom of the daffodil by the end of June, whereby a single female fly can lay up to fifty eggs. The hatching maggots bore their way through the ground to the onion and eat the inside. They overwinter in the empty onion shell, leave it in April and then pupate in the ground to fly out in May.
Mites mainly attack stored onions and multiply especially at high ambient temperatures. When onions are planted, they can no longer cause great damage. Here it is mainly nematodes that can clog the piping system in the event of severe infestation, so that the leaves slowly cripple or yellow, while at the same time bumpy bulges become visible. Mainly responsible for this appearance is Ditylenchus dipsaci , which also attacks other plants such as Allium , Stellaria , Plantago and Hieracium . Infested onions must be destroyed. For the next five years, no susceptible plant species should be planted on areas where daffodils were heavily infested with nematodes. In the home garden, such areas are often planted with marigolds .
Snails do not damage the foliage or the onion of daffodils growing out of strong bulbs. However, you can eat off the flowers. The seedlings from daffodil seeds are also endangered.
Poisonous and medicinal plant narcissus
Like all amaryllis plants, daffodils contain "Amaryllidaceae alkaloids ". Depending on the type, these can be different. The yellow daffodil, for example, contains the alkaloids narcissin , galantamine and lycorin . The poet's daffodil contains narcipoietin instead of lycorine . For the plant, the alkaloids represent a natural protection against parasite infestation and grazing herbivores: " anti- feeding poisons". Daffodils also contain fructans and low molecular weight glucomannans , which are found in abundance in the leaves and plant stems, among other things.
Poisoning occurs occasionally because the onions look very similar to those of the kitchen onions when they are not in use . Consumption of daffodil bulbs can cause gagging, vomiting , diarrhea , drowsiness, sweating, drowsiness, collapse and symptoms of paralysis. Very large doses can also cause death. Doctors often treat narcissus bulb poisoning with charcoal and symptomatic therapies . Liver degeneration has been found in animals due to narcissus poisoning .
The sap of the plant can cause local skin irritation . It is a contact dermatitis , which is also known as "narcissus disease" and occurs mainly in gardeners. The symptoms subside after the daffodil harvest, even without treatment. It is a toxic reaction to ingredients in daffodils such as oxalic acid , chelidonic acid and lycorin.
The alkaloid galantamine, which occurs, for example, in the yellow daffodil, has received approval for the symptomatic treatment of mild to moderate dementia in people with Alzheimer's disease . It was isolated for the first time from the bulbs of the Caucasian snowdrop in 1953 and was initially used, among other things, to break the muscle relaxation triggered by curare compounds during operations and for pathological muscle weakness. Today, however, daffodils no longer have any medicinal significance. The galantamine synthesis is possible on an industrial scale. In folk medicine , daffodils only played a role occasionally and were mainly used for skin diseases, as emetics and as a remedy for colds and whooping cough .
Ancient medicine used the plant Narcissus (probably Narcissus poetica L. ) for coughs and colic.
Cultural history
antiquity
The oldest evidence that daffodils were used to decorate flowers is a wreath of white flowering tazettes found in an ancient Egyptian tomb. The Greek poet Stasinos, who lived in the eighth or seventh century BC, also mentions daffodils (like ambrosia, the flowers of daffodils) in the so-called Cypriot chants, in which he sings of the flowers on the island of Cyprus . Theophrastus also mentions a flower called narkissos and is likely to have meant the Narcissus serotinus , which occurs in the coastal areas of Greece and in southern Asia Minor . The wall paintings unearthed in Pompeii indicate that the Romans were already familiar with the daffodil as well as the daffodil.
Garden culture in western Europe
In Central Europe, the daffodil was hardly mentioned in writings until after the Middle Ages . It is occasionally seen in book illumination and appears in the late Middle Ages on medieval panel paintings , particularly those depicting the crucifixion scene. In the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Cologne there is a painting called "Calvary" by an unknown master from the end of the Middle Ages, on which daffodils can be seen as a symbol of hope for the resurrection. One of the few who also mention the narcissus in writing is Albertus Magnus ( De vegetabilibus et plantis ), who mentions an herb called narcissus , whose leaves he compares with those of leek.
During the Renaissance, it became common in Central and Central Europe to design gardens and parks with ornamental plants that were as exotic as possible. In the period from 1560 to 1620, known as the oriental period , mainly tulips , hyacinths and daffodils were imported from southern and south-eastern Europe . In 1588 Joachim Camerarius was already tending nine different “clans” of daffodils in his Nuremberg garden; the Hortus Eystettensis already had 43 for the year 1613. The daffodil did not gain as great popularity as the tulip during this period, which became a much sought-after object of speculation, especially in the so-called tulip mania . Trumpet daffodils were already being grown on a larger scale and poet and hooped daffodils were being sold. The first double daffodils were also imported from Istanbul . In the early baroque garden, the daffodil was, together with the tulips, one of the most important flowering plants in spring. And the pastor and hymn writer Paul Gerhardt dedicated a stanza of his well-known song Go out, my heart, and seek Freud :
Narcissus and the Tulipan
They dress much nicer
than Solomonis silk
A catalog of a Dutch nursery from 1739 already listed 50 varieties, including 'Soleil d'Or', a variety that is still commercially available today. At that time, daffodils were mostly kept indoors; A special interest was shown in multi-flowered tazettes. At the beginning of the 20th century, 50 million onions of the 'Paper White' tazette variety were exported from the Netherlands to the USA .
Great Britain in particular has played a major role in the daffodil culture. In 1804, William Wordsworth , one of the leading figures of the English romantic movement, dedicated his poem I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud to the daffodils , the first stanza of which reads:
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
fluttering and dancing in the breeze
The first Daffodil Conference was hosted by the Royal Horticultural Society in Great Britain in 1884 . In 1898, the forerunner organization of the present Daffodil Society was founded in Birmingham , an organization that annually awards particularly attractive daffodils with prizes. However, the world's most famous specialist journal on narcissus culture is now published by the American Daffodil Society .
Daffodils in Chinese Culture
Daffodils, which belong to the group of tazettes, were probably brought to China by Arab traders on the Silk Road . As a garden plant, it has not achieved any special significance in Chinese garden art . However, it is considered a symbol of luck. Marianne Beuchert , who is one of the best connoisseurs of Chinese gardening, describes that daffodils, as the so-called one hundred-headed water fairy, are a special sign of good luck at the Chinese New Year. The daffodil bulbs are cut several times after they have been cleared so that up to ten flower stalks grow out of one daffodil bulb. Since these are multi-flowered daffodils and several bulbs are planted tightly in bowls, up to 100 flowers can arise in a small bowl.
Daffodils in Islamic Culture
Daffodils are one of the most popular garden flowers in Islamic culture . It is said of the Persian ruler Chusrau Anuschirwan , who ruled from 537 to 579, that he worshiped narcissi so much that he could not take part in feasts because their flowers remind him of eyes. In Arabic poetry, the equation of narcissus and eye has been established since the end of the 8th century. This picture still exists today. In the 19th century, the Indian Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib therefore recorded:
- So that she can see the green and the rose
- God gave the eye of the daffodil the power to see ( quoted in Schimmel, 2001, p. 103 )
The picture is not always so positive. The white eye of the daffodil can also be a blind eye or one marked by insomnia. Occasionally, the daffodil blossom is also used as a symbol for an eye that has been weeping blind from longing for love.
One of the most famous narcissus poems in Arabic poetry was written by Abu Nuwas in the 9th century.
Look at the gardens of the earth and observe
the trace of the artistic work of God the Lord,
where silver eyes, looking upwards
with
eyes melted from gold on the emerald stem, testify
that God does not recognize a co-ruler.
( quoted in Schimmel, 2001, p. 99 )
The Islamic scholar Annemarie Schimmel referred to the legend widespread in the Arab world that Abu Nuwas, who was actually condemned to be a sinner because of his drinking songs and obscene love songs , was accepted into paradise precisely because of this narcissus poem . The high esteem that daffodils experienced and experience in the Middle East is also expressed in a saying attributed to Mohammed :
- If you have two loaves of bread, sell one and buy daffodil flowers for it; for bread is only nourishment for the body, but the narcissus nourishes the soul. ( quoted in Krausch , 2003, p. 305 )
Daffodils as garden plants
While some wild daffodil species have special soil requirements, the daffodil varieties that are offered in gardening shops get along well with most garden soils. In the case of water-storing and loamy soils, however, it must be ensured that better water drainage is guaranteed by adding sand. Neutral soils with a pH of 7 are best suited for daffodil cultivation.
Daffodil bulbs come on the market either as round noses or double noses . The bulb ends from which the leaves emerged are called “nose”. Double noses usually form two groups of leaves and, accordingly, two flower stems. Onions with more noses are obsolete and are usually not available in stores.
While a main bud is being planted, the daughter onion of a planted double nose forms a secondary bud in the leaf axil of an onion skin. As the outer storage leaves die, this slowly moves outwards and will become another daughter onion. In order to prevent a once planted onion from developing more and more small and therefore blooming onions, it is therefore necessary to dig up the onions after five to seven years. Daughter onions are then removed from the main onion and planted separately. It is essential that the onions also contain a piece of the base plate of the onion, since this is where the suction roots are formed.
Daffodils are particularly suitable for underplanting groups of trees, where they are used in groups of six to twelve bulbs of each variety. In the perennial bed, they are particularly suitable for cultivation in the vicinity of daylilies . Daylilies start sprouting their leaves when the daffodils are in bloom. They experience a growth spurt around the time the daffodil flowers have faded and the daffodil leaves begin to yellow. Many game species and some of the hybrids such as 'Dutch Master', 'Golden Harvest', 'Carlton', 'Kings Court' and 'Yellow Sun' are also suitable for naturalization in lawns. Daffodils should not be mowed before the leaves turn yellow, otherwise your bulbs will not be able to collect enough nutrients for the next flowering. Blue-flowering bulbous plants such as those of the Scilla and Muscari genera are also suitable for naturalization in lawns and create an attractive color contrast with these yellow-flowering daffodils.
Unlike tulip bulbs, narcissus bulbs are not eaten by voles . This genus is therefore particularly suitable for gardeners who occasionally have problems with these rodents . In orchards , daffodils are even occasionally planted on the so-called tree slices around the fruit trees in order to protect their roots from being gnawed by voles.
Daffodils in commercial cultivation
Main growing country Netherlands
The Netherlands is the country that has a special position worldwide in the cultivation of flower bulbs. The commercial cultivation of daffodils also mainly takes place here. Flower bulbs are grown on around 16,700 hectares, of which daffodils account for around 1,800. In the 1990s around 260 million daffodil bulbs were grown here every year. Only tulips , gladioli , irises , crocuses and lilies are more important than this genus .
The number of varieties produced is relatively small. 20 hybrids account for around two thirds of the area under cultivation. The most important varieties are the yellow 'Carlton' and the white 'Ice Follies', both of which belong to class two in the classification of narcissus varieties shown below. Just like the other two main cultivars 'Dutch Master' and 'Golden Harvest', these are varieties that have been grown for a long time. 'Carlton' and 'Golden Harvest' were introduced as a variety back in 1927, while 'Ice Follies' is the youngest variety and dates from 1953.
In addition to the Netherlands, there are large commercial farms, especially in Great Britain , which specialize in the cultivation of daffodils.
Commercial cultivation
Commercially, daffodil bulbs are propagated using what is known as twin scaling . To do this, onions are divided into tiny pieces so that two adjacent onion skins are still connected by a tiny piece of onion base. After disinfection, they are grown on special nutrient media. From a single mother onion, around 25 to 35 new plants can be grown, which are ready to flower after four years.
The "harvest" of onions that are to be sold takes place in summer. Ingested onions are first sorted. To prevent pest infestation, daffodil bulbs are usually subjected to hot water treatment after a storage period of two to three weeks. This bath in 43.5 ° C hot water, to which a dressing agent is usually added, prevents both damage by daffodil flies and infestation by nematodes. The onions are then dried at a relatively high temperature. Large commercial growers, mainly located in the Netherlands, store their bulbs in special sheds with a constant room temperature of 15.5 ° C until they are sold.
The trade
In the past, major customers bought entire areas in fields with flowering plants and then received the harvested onions from this area. This is no longer common today. Marketing offices sell the onions, although the onions are still sold well in advance of harvest. There are special viewing gardens in the Netherlands for buyers of flower bulbs , where large customers can get an impression of flowering plants and compare different varieties. In addition to daffodils, other bulbous plants such as tulips and hyacinths are exhibited there. Individual, very large viewing gardens show more than 1,000 daffodil hybrids. Unlike the Keukenhof , a very well-known Dutch garden, which is visited by thousands of tourists especially in the spring and only around 100 daffodil hybrids are grown on its area, bus tourists are not welcome in these viewing gardens. In contrast, these gardens are freely accessible to individual visitors. However, individual customers cannot buy onions here. If business deals are made in the viewing gardens, several hundredweight of daffodil bulbs are usually sold.
Cut flowers enter the trade via the usual trade routes. High-quality daffodils are occasionally delivered to florists in forcing boxes. The flowers are then harvested at retail outlets as needed.
Daffodil forcing
Daffodils come on the market as cut or flowering potted plants as early as Christmas and are offered until Easter. In order to be able to supply the market with daffodils over this long period, the growers must pre-treat the daffodil bulbs accordingly. If they are to flower in December, the bulbs are cleared in June, then dried and then stored for four days at a room temperature of 34 degrees. This is followed by two weeks of storage at 30 degrees and another two weeks at 17 degrees room temperature. The flowering capacity is then achieved through a subsequent cold storage at a constant 9 degrees. Plants that are to be brought to flower at Christmas are usually planted densely in lean compost in fruit trays. When grown in a greenhouse, depending on the variety, it takes between 19 and 30 days for the plants to bloom.
Daffodils, which you want to harvest as cut or potted plants from mid-January, do not need to be stored at high temperatures. After the harvest, they are initially stored at 17 degrees and then cooled down to 9 degrees from September. They can then also be planted out in the open, if they are protected from excessive cold snaps by so-called roller houses. In nurseries, daffodils and other flower bulbs are often laid out in wooden crates filled with earth, covered with a thick layer of sand and displayed outdoors in cold frames covered with straw mats. Depending on the need, the crates are then exposed and driven in the greenhouse until they bloom.
Breeding goals
The Royal Horticultural Society is the international registry for new daffodil hybrids. At the beginning of the 1990s, more than 24,000 varieties were registered. For varieties that are also intended to be suitable for commercial cultivation, one of the breeding goals is that the stem length does not fall below 30 centimeters. This makes them suitable for growing as cut flowers . In addition, buds cut flowers should only open after a few days. This makes it possible to market them in bundles and to ensure that they only start to bloom at the florist who processes them.
Despite the very high number of varieties, new varieties are always being bred for planting in the garden. Here the breeding goals are mainly new color combinations. So today there are varieties whose side crown is pink. The small varieties are particularly popular in the garden. One of the breeding goals here is to expand the color palette of the flower and, above all, to use winter hardy hybrids.
Classification of species and varieties
Systematics of wild species
The number of species within the narcissus genus is still controversial. Walter Erhardt (1993) in his very comprehensive description of the genus assumes 66 different species, The International Daffoldil Register and Classified List 2008 accepts 85 species.
The genus of daffodils has been classified several times according to different criteria in the course of botanical history. In 1966, a division was made by Frederick Gustav Meyer , which many German nurseries have followed to this day. In England and in scientific circles, however, the classification published in 1968 by Abilio Fernandes was followed for a long time . In 1990 there was a new classification by John W. Blanchard , which also took subspecies and varieties into account. The description of the narcissus species in the article Classification of narcissus reflects this classification.
The division of daffodils into classes
From a horticultural point of view, the daffodil species and their hybrids are divided into 12 classes, sometimes referred to as divisions. The decisive factor for this classification is usually the shape and length of the corolla, the number of flowers per stem, but also the flowering time . This form of classification is an aid to planning plantings. Most of the commercially available daffodils come from class 1, the trumpet daffodils; class 2, the large-crowned daffodils and class 8, the tazettes, which are, however, already more demanding in gardening.
The wild species are an exception within this classification, as they and the species hybrids occurring in nature are generally placed in class 10.
A detailed description of this classification and the respective culture conditions is given in the article Classification of Daffodils .
The daffodil in Greek mythology
The narcissus plays a role in two legends of Greek mythology . They have been handed down by Homer and Pausanias and were later used in their poems by Roman poets such as Ovid .
The rape of Persephone
The rape of the young Persephone , the daughter of Demeter , by Hades is described in the Homeric hymn (5:21) to Demeter:
- “Far from Demeter, the mistress of the harvest, which cuts with a golden sickle, she played and picked flowers with the daughters of Oceanus, roses, crocuses and beautiful violets, irises, hyacinths and daffodils. The earth produced the daffodil as a wonderful trap for the beautiful girl according to Zeus' plan to please Hades, who receives all. It was a wonderful sight for everyone, immortal gods and mortal people, from its roots grew a hundred little heads, which gave off such a sweet scent that the whole wide sky above and the whole earth laughed and the salty tide of the sea. The girl was charmed and stretched out both hands to grab the splendor. But when she did, the earth opened and the ruler Hades, whom we will all meet, broke forth with his immortal horses on the plain of Nysa. The Lord Hades, son of Cronus, who is called by many names. Pleading for mercy, she was dragged into the golden chariot. ”(Quoted from Beuchert, p. 233 f.)
The saga of Narcissus
The legend of Ovid tells of a youth by the name of Narcissus or Narcissus, who was unusually attractive. The spring nymph Echo fell in love with him . It was her fate, however, that the young man could not hear her wooing him, since she could only return the words spoken to her. Narcissus, on the other hand, mocked her while she was so longing for him that she vanished and only her echo could be heard.
For this he was punished by Nemesis , according to other sources by Aphrodite , by falling into an insatiable love for his own image reflected in the water. This fulfilled the prediction of the seer Teiresias , according to which he would only have a long life if he did not get to know himself.
One day Narcissus sat down by the lake to enjoy his reflection. By divine providence, a leaf fell into the water and the waves created in this way clouded his reflection - shocked by the supposed realization that he was ugly (because of the waves that distorted his reflection), he died. After his death he was turned into a daffodil. ( Pausanias 9.31.7)
literature
- Marianne Beuchert : Symbolism of Plants (= Insel-Taschenbuch 2994). With 101 watercolors by Marie-Therese Tietmeyer. Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main et al. 1995, ISBN 3-458-34694-5 .
- John W. Blanchard : Narcissus. A Guide to Wild Daffodils. Alpine Garden Society, St. John's Woking 1990, ISBN 0-900048-53-0 .
- Bulbs and tubers (= Dumont's gardening manual ). Dumont, Cologne 1998, ISBN 3-7701-4336-1 .
- Walter Erhardt : Daffodils. Daffodils, jonquilles, tazettes. Ulmer, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-8001-6489-2 .
- Heinz-Dieter Krausch : "Kaiserkron and peonies red ...". Discovery and introduction of our garden flowers. Dölling and Galitz, Munich et al. 2003, ISBN 3-935549-23-7 .
- Annemarie Schimmel : Little paradises. Flowers and Gardens in Islam (= Herder Spectrum Vol. 5291). Herder, Breisgau (Breisgau) et al. 2001, ISBN 3-451-05192-3 .
- Gerhard Bahnert : Everything about daffodils. Gold and silver in the spring garden Deutscher Landwirtschaftsverlag Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-331-00503-7 .
Web links
- The daffodil as a poisonous plant
- Short article about narcissus valleys in the Eifel
- Pictures of common varieties of daffodils by classes
- DaffSeek - Daffodil database of the American Daffodil Society with approx. 32,600 varieties of daffodils
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans Zotter : Ancient medicine. The collective medical manuscript Cod. Vindobonensis 93 in Latin and German. Academic printing and Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1980 (= Interpretationes ad codices. Volume 2); 2nd, improved edition, ibid. 1986, ISBN 3-201-01310-2 , p. 124 f. (On the plant Narcissus ).
- ↑ Wissenschaft-Online> Lexikon der Biologie> Potato-Y-Virusgruppe: Table I. In: www.spektrum.de. Retrieved March 11, 2016 .
- ↑ Fusarium - mushrooms - cyclamen.com - disease sheets. In: www.cyclamen.com. Retrieved March 11, 2016 .
- ↑ Hans Zotter : Ancient medicine. The collective medical manuscript Cod. Vindobonensis 93 in Latin and German. Academic printing and Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1980 (= Interpretationes ad codices. Volume 2); 2nd, improved edition ibid. 1986, ISBN 3-201-01310-2 , p. 124 f.
