262 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 3, 1884. 
Species. Native Country. 
17, N. intermedius .. .. .. . .Spain, S. France, Balearic Islands. 
18, N. gracilis.Not wild. 
19, N. Jonquilla. .. . .Spain, S. France, Italy to Dalmatia. 
20, N. jonquilloides .. .(Wilkom FI. Hisp.) Spain. 
21, N. viridiflorus .Spain and Barbary. 
22, N. elegans.Italy, Sicily, Algiers. 
23, N. serotinus .Spain, S. Europe, Barbary States, Greece 
and Palestine. 
Doubtful Species of Narcissus. — I may here mention that among 
generally acknowledged species there are two or three which have never 
been found wild. These are N. Macleaii, N. poculiformis (montanus), and 
N. gracilis. It is questionable if these are really species, my own opinion 
being that they are old and well-marked garden hybrids or seedlings. 
N. pachybolbus and N. canariensis should, I think, be considered as out¬ 
lying geographical forms of N. Tazetta. N. jonquilloides of the “Flora 
Hispanica ” (Willkom) I have not seen alive, but in the plate it resembles 
N. intermedius. N. calathinus must now be referred to N. triandrus. 
Others, again, which really do exist wild without a doubt, have also had 
their exact counterparts produced in gardens. Thus, on the authority of 
Dean Herbert and others, N. incomparabilis and N. odorus, both well known 
as wild in Southern Europe, have been produced in gardens by hybridisation. 
Early Culture of Narcissus. —Most of the species of Narcissus were 
known to the early English gardeners, more particularly to John Parkinson, 
who figures and describes ninety-six species and varieties in the year 1629. 
Geography of the Narcissi. —Nearly all these kinds are found wild 
in Europe. Spain and the south of France seem to be the focus of the 
genus, but a few are found in northern Africa. 
N. Tazetta is most ubiquitous, growing all over southern Europe and 
northern Africa, and then going off at a tangent through Persia, Cashmere, 
and India as far east as China and Japan. 
Classification of the Narcissus. —Parkinson seems to have been the 
first to attempt any classification, and he is very particular that we should 
distinguish Daffodils from Narcissus proper, and is equally careful lest we 
should confound the flat-leaved with the rusli-lcaved kinds. At a more 
recent date Salisbury, Haworth, and Herbert all worked among these flowers, 
but their methods of classification, although most interesting to garden 
students, are now botanically obsolete. We are indebted to Mr. J. G. 
Baker of Kew for a clear and useful system of grouping, published in 1869, 
and it is this system, with a few modifications, I shall bring before you 
to-day. 
Mr. Baker’s plan depends on the relative length which naturally exists 
between the perianth segments as contrasted with the cup or corona, and I 
have divided these three main divisions into flat-leaved and rush-leaved 
groups. 
The three main divisions as characterised by the varying size of their 
cup3 or crowns may be thus popularised :— 
LARGE-TRUNKED. 
Group I. (Magnicoronatje) or “Coffee-cup” Section. 
Medium-cupped. 
Group II. (Mediocoronat.e), or “Tea-cup” Section. 
Small-crowned. 
Group III. (Paryicoronat2e), or “Tea-saucer” Section. 
THE HYBRID AND SEEDLING NARCISSI. 
When we come to speak of Narcissus hybrids it is a matter of regret that 
the workers in this fertile field .have left us scarcely any data or notes of 
how their numerous seedling and) hybrid forms were produced. Dean 
Herbert (in Jour. R. H. S., vol. ii., p. 1) has told us more than anyone ; and 
the late Mr. W. Backhouse of St. John’s, Walsingham (who raised the 
“Empress” and “Emperor” Daffodils), contributed an interesting paper to 
the Gard. Chron. for June 10th, 1865. The late Mr. Leeds of Longford 
Bridge, Manchester, who raised more new kinds than anyone else, gave us 
no information whatever, nor did the late John Horsefield, the Lancashire 
-weaver, who raised the “ Bicolor Horsefieldii Daffodil,” decidedly one of the 
most robust and beautiful of its race. The late Mr. Nelson, of Aldborough 
Rectory near Norwich, raised a few varieties of especial merit, notably the 
noble sulphur Daffodil named “Gertrude Jekyll,” and a white form of the 
dwarf Daffodil (N. nanus). Mr. Nelson kindly told me by letter only a few 
days before his death that cross-fertilisation was not resorted to. So Mynheer 
Simon de Graaff of Leiden informs me that his flee new kinds are seedlings 
or wind-fertilised hybrids. These remarks corroborate what Mr. Backhouse 
wrote in the Gardeners' Chronicle twenty years ago (June 10th, 1865), when, 
speaking of artificial crosses between the “Daffodil” and the “ Poet’s Nar¬ 
cissus,” he says, “Seeds I have sown from plants not artificially impregnated 
produce the same result, some showing the Daffodil and others the N. poeticus 
type.” The moral here would seem to be, Raise seedlings—hybrids if you 
can—but raise seedlings.” 
Here is a list of all known type hybrids so far as we at present know 
them. 
HYBRID NARCISSUS. 
,---•, 
PARENTS. ' HYBRIDS. 
^- 
\ 
-\ r- 
-- A --s 
N. Pseudo-Narcissus 
X 
N. poeticus = 
X 
N. incomparabil s. 
X 
„ Jonquilla = 
X 
„ odorus. 
X 
„ Tazetta = 
X 
„ Macleaii. 
,, Jonquilla 
X 
X 
„ gracilis and tenuior. 
X 
X 
„ intermedius and jonquilloides. 
,, poeticus 
X 
„ Macleaii = 
X 
,, Nelsonii in yariety. 
X 
,, Pseudo-Narcissus = 
X 
„ Barrii „ 
X 
»» V J* = 
X 
„ Burbidgei „ 
„ incomparabilis 
X 
*» J1 »J 
X 
„ Humei „ 
„ poculiformis 
X 
X 
„ Leedsii ,, 
,, incomparabilis 
X 
„ „ moschatus = 
X 
,, Milneri „ 
„ poeticus 
X 
„ „ muticus = 
X 
,, Bernardii „ 
„ Macleaii 
X 
X 
„ tridymug „ 
„ Tazetta 
X 
,, poculiformis = 
X 
,, Mastergianus. 
DERIVATIVE HYBRIDS OF NARCISSUS. 
Some of these hybrids have again yielded seedlings, so that the variations 
now observable are of the most divergent and perplexing kind ; so much so 
indeed that some have complained that there is too much sameness among 
the newer kinds of Narcissus. This much is true of Roses or Auriculas, 
indeed of nearly all garden flowers, and after all it is easy to use one’s eyes 
on a day like this, noting the most beautiful from one’s own standpoint, and 
resolutely avoiding those which do not please our taste. To my mind the 
delicate chromatic scale—the subtleties of form and of colour these new 
seedlings afford us—are most beautiful, and a garden tastefully planted with 
CLASSIFICATION OF THE GENUS NARCISSUS. 
Group I. 
Group II. 
Group III. 
Magnicoronatce. 
Mediocoronatce. 
Parvicoro -ah*. 
Cmwn as long, or longer than the perianth 
Crown half or rarely three-quarters a9 long as 
Crown less than half 
as long as the perianth 
divisions. 
the perianth divisions. 
divisions. 
Trumpet Daffodil. 
Hooped-Petticoat 
Medium-Cupped Narcissus. 
Small-crowned Narcissus. 
a. Flat-leaved. 
Daffodil. 
a. Flat-leaved. b. Rush-leaved. 
a. Flat-leaved. 
b. Rush-leaved. 
l.N. Pseudo-Narcissus 
b. Rush-leaved. 
3. N. incomparabilis 7. N. odorus 
11. N. Tazetta 
17. N. intermedius 
yars. 
2. N. Bulbocodium 
4. N. Macleaii 8. N. juncifolius 
12. N. pachybolbus 
18. N. gracilis 
vars. 
5. N. dubius 9. N. triandrus 
IS. N. biflorus 
19. N. Jonquilla 
6. N. poculiformis 10. N. calathinus 
14. N. poeticus 
20. N. jonquilloides 
15. N. Broussonetii 
21. N. viridiflorus 
16. N. canariensis 
2>. N. elegans 
23. N. serotinus 
a. Flat-leaved. 
a. Flat-leaved. 
a. Flat-leaved. 
1. N. pseudo-Narcissus. — The type of this 
species is the common Daffodil of English mea¬ 
dows and orchards, and of this type there are in¬ 
numerable forms, ranging from the tiny N. mini¬ 
mus up to N. maximus, which is the tallest and 
largest of its race. All the varieties have flat 
glaucous leaves. 
b. Rush-leaved. 
2. N. Bulbocodium.—The type of this species 
is N. Bulbocodium, the “ Rush-leaved ” or 
“ Hooped Petticoat ” Daffodil of Southern Europe. 
There are many varieties, all easily recognised 
by the expanded crinoline-like corona, narrow 
perianth segments, declinate stamens, and greon 
rush-like leaves. 
S. N. incomparabilis.—1-flowered ; leaf half 
an inch broad, glaucous. 
4. N. Macleaii.—1-2-flowered ; leaves broad, 
greenish ; crown bright yellow, three-quarters 
as long as the spreading white perianth seg¬ 
ments. (?) Hybrid. 
5. N. dubius.—Many- flowered, with flattisb 
glaucous leaves; perianth segments 3-5 lines 
long, cup 3 lines deep. 
6. N. poculiformis.—1-2-flowered, all white; 
crown half as long as the perianth divisions ; 
flower “ dog-eared,” but 3-4 inches in diameter. 
b. Rush-leaved. 
7. N. odorus (Campernelle Jonquil).—All yel¬ 
low, 2-5-flowered, with bright green Rusli-iike 
leaves. 
8. N. juncifolius.—1-5-flowered, much smaller 
than N. odorus, with a flattish corona. 
9. N. triandrus.—1-5-flowered, perianth divi¬ 
sions reflexed like a Cyclamen flower. 
10. N. calathinus.—1-2-flowered, with reflexed 
segments like the last ; perhaps only a geo¬ 
graphical form of it, having larger flowers. 
11. N. Tazetta. — Many-flowered, with flat 
glaucous leaves ; very variable. 
*12. N. pachybolbus. 
13. N. biflorus. — 1-3-flowered ; flowers like 
N. poeticus ; creamy white, cup pure yellow. 
14. N. poeticus. — 1-flowered; white, with a 
purple or red edge to the crown. 
15. N. Broussonetii.—Crown nearly suppressed. 
*16. N. canariensis. 
b. Rush-leaved. 
17. N. intermedius.—A many-flowered yellow 
N. Tazetta with rush leaves. 
18. N. gracilis. — 1-2-flowered; flowers pale j 
yellowq as large as N. poeticus. 
19. N. jonquilla.—Many-flowered ; flowers deep 
yellow; very fragrant. 
20. N. jonquilloides.—(Willkom FI. Hisp.). 
c. Autumn-flowering. 
21. N. viridiflorus.—Many-flowered ; perianth 
greenish. 
22. N. elegans.—1-3-flowered ; pure white. 
23. N. serotinus.— Flowers after the leaves 
very like the last, but with broader perianth 
segments. 
