Flower lovers are being urged to help map daffodils across the UK – and look out for rare pink, white and “bonfire” yellow varieties.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is launching a “daffodil diaries” project in commemoration of 100 years since the charity helped save the flower.
One of its scientists, James Kirkham Ramsbottom, was awarded the Barr Memorial in 1924 for developing a hot water treatment against eelworms – credited with saving the daffodil.
The project runs from 12 February to Saint David’s Day on 1 March, when the flowers are worn to mark the patron saint of Wales.
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Businesses and gardeners are being asked to log where daffodils are blooming, along with basic information such as colour, type and height.
RHS scientists will then use the information from the mapping project to understand the environmental influences on the popular spring plant, its spread, and what buyers prefer.
In particular, the charity is asking people to look for three varieties of daffodils that are at risk or thought to be extinct, including:
• Mrs R O Backhouse, one of the first pink daffodils, which has a solid coral pink trumpet and ivory flowers
• Mrs William Copeland – a white double-flowered daffodil which has not been on sale in recent years
• The Sussex bonfire, a double-flowered yellow and orange daffodil, which has never been located
The RHS said finding rarer daffodils can help better understand gardening heritage in the UK, aid the survival of the varieties, and even ensure the preservation of genetic material to help breed the flowers in the future.
Dr Kalman Konyves, daffodil expert with the RHS, said: “Daffodils have come to mark the arrival of spring and are celebrated for their welcome burst of colour in gardens, parks and roadsides.
“But there’s more to this ubiquitous yellow flower than meets the eye, with 31,000 known varieties available in green, pink and red.
“Understanding where they can be found will help us in preserving this diversity for the future.”
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Gwen Hines, chief executive of plant conservation charity Plant Heritage, which helped select which rare cultivars to search for, added: “Springtime daffodils are abundant, but rare varieties could be lost from our gardens and roadsides if they’re not found and cared for.
“While six national plant collections do protect some, many others aren’t yet safeguarded, which is why we encourage everyone to look for rare varieties this spring.”
