The search for rare flowers lost from history
Rare British daffodils may be hidden in gardens and parks, and experts want to track them.
They developed a list of wanted lists of lost duration varieties associated with local places, such as the vibrant “bonfire yellow” daffodils associated with the campfire party in Sussex.
Gwen Hines of Plant Heritage, a plant protection charity, said that if rare varieties are not found and cared for, it may be lost.
“They bring fun to all of us in the spring…and, in the future, they may be important to scientific drugs,” she said.
Daffodils believed to have been brought to the UK by the Romans and are the source of glycolamine, a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.
The beloved plants have been breeding for centuries and are now in dazzling arrays in about 30,000 different shapes, sizes and colors.
Most daffodils are yellow, but some are white, orange and salmon meal.
Horticultural charity RHS is seeking help in search of rare and missing daffodils that are afraid of being lost in history and science.
Sussex bonfire
The Sussex Bonfire is named after the famous bonfire night in the small town of Lewis in the Sussex County town.
Daffodils are one of many people that local plant breeder Noel Burr has bred, but haven’t seen them for at least 20 years.
It is famous for its very bright orange-yellow flowers.
Sussex gardener Roger Parsons wants it to still grow in a garden somewhere.
“Maybe someone has planted it in their garden, but it still exists, but our challenge is to find that person,” he said.
“Discovering this and other daffodils thought to be lost helps maintain these genes for future plant breeding.”
RO Backhouse Lady Daffodil
This daffodil is one of many people who breed the plant girl Sarah Backhouse. It was named after her husband after his death in 1921.
Daffodils are one of the earliest daffodils with pink color. It has a salmon pink trumpet surrounded by ivory flowers.
As we all know, daffodils exist in national collections, but their actual whereabouts are unknown.
Mrs. William Coplain
During the Victorian and late Edwardian times, daffodils were fashionable and reproduced in different shapes and forms.
Since then, William Fowler Copeland (1872-1953) was a particularly famous daffodil breeder.
He named the white double-flowered daffodil after his wife.
RHS also called on the public to record daffodils that appeared this spring.
RHS scientist Dr. Kálmán Könyves spent 15 years studying “these fascinating plants.”
On a map of which daffodils grow, he said, will help us figure out how plants cope with changing climates.
“That way, we can get some data to see if the flowering time changes as the climate changes,” he said.