In Search of Wild Narcissi.

I would start by endeavouring to clarify a commonly accepted misnomer in the field of either garden or wild Daffodil species. Many people seem to accord the name “Daffodil” to those members of the group bearing the large “trumpet” centred flowers which form the bulk of the more obvious cultivated species, and use the name “Narcissus” to refer to any of the more diminutive or multiple flowered species. At the risk of boring the already botanically minded of you I would point out that the plant world is broken up into a number of “Families” of which the Amaryllidaceae is the one within which the “sub family” or “Genus” Narcissus falls. All members are either “Narcissi” if being scientific or “Daffodils” if using the nomenclature of common parlance. For a better understanding of the technical jargon relating to this Genus, and its origins and background, I can best refer you to the book “Narcissus – a Guide to Wild Daffodils” by John Blanchard (ISBN 0 900048 53 0) which is currently the most comprehensive guide that I know of.

My original love of flowering plants has always played a large part in my photographic pursuits, and living, as I do at the moment, in Spain, it is, therefore, a natural progression that Wild Narcissi should, so to speak, raise their collective heads and clamour for attention. The bulk of Narcissus species originate in the region stretching from the French Pyrenees South through the Iberian Peninsula with a number in North Africa and one or two in Northern Europe.

Whilst the characteristics of most species are well documented many of the descriptions are based on dried specimens and date back many tens of years and, in some cases, centuries. On the current status and distribution in the wild there are very few reference books dealing in any depth with the genus Narcissus.

I decided many years ago to cover as many species as came my way and accordingly, though never in a position to make a concerted effort, photographed them as and when I could. Living in Spain provides a gateway to a veritable Utopia of flowering plants but there is a great dearth of like minded individuals to myself – certainly to the almost obsessional degree that my interest has shaped my life over recent years. As a result of this I often feel like the “Lonely Petunia in an Onion patch” without that gratifying opportunity to exchange information with fellow enthusiasts on a “where have you been and what have you seen?” basis. In the absence of the opportunity to “swap” sites etc there is a good chance of having to wander like a headless chicken in search of your interest of the moment.

Unfortunately for me I recently developed an undeniable urge to cover the genus in greater depth. Living a somewhat solitary and single minded life (nubile and Wildlife Photography orientated maidens please note – but must be able to carry my tripod and spare lenses!), I often find the course of that life dictated by undeniable urges. One of the regular and more insistent of these is my form of “walkabout fever” which can rear its head unexpectedly at any moment and its demands can only be assuaged by reaching for the backpack and travel bag and setting forth into the great unknown.

However this latest Narcissistic urge dictated a greater degree of research than just an aimless meander. No doubt there are enthusiasts in Spain who could have pointed me in the right direction but, as is often the case, I don’t happen to know any. I therefore turned my attention to the U.K. I have a great plant growing friend in Cornwall and I vaguely remembered seeing some Daffodil Society Handbooks with him some years earlier when the “urge” was not upon me and I consequently paid them little heed. However a trip to the U.K. was imminent, for reasons that I cannot recall, and during it I made Safari down to deepest Cornwall to visit him.

Not only did he have Daffodil Soc and Alpine Garden Soc handbooks going back many years but he also introduced me, for the first time, to John Blanchard’s book on Narcissi. I read assiduously in the two days of my visit and made copious notes based on all reports of Narc hunting trips or sightings and, in conjunction with maps of Spain, Portugal and the French Pyrenees, came up with a number of potentially viable sites.

Many wild populations of Narcissi have a flowering period of only some 2-3 weeks and so locations are of little use without some information regarding flowering times. Fortunately the various articles, in conjunction with “the book”, had provided a rough guide to some of these and the others I was able to hazard a guess at. I certainly had enough information to feel justified in setting up a planned trip. One potential hazard was that, not only are flowering times very limited in the wild, but also seasons, particularly in high montane regions, can vary significantly from one year to the next and so any information regarding flowering times can only, at best, be treated as a rough guide. There is no greater frustration than to finally arrive at a long sought site only to find the object of your desires wilting and desiccated. No doubt this is quite rewarding for the devoted botanist who may well be after seeds but for the flowering plant photographer the only consolation is in knowing where to come next season without having to search again.

The articles on Narcissi associated with the above discourse are based on trips that took place over a number of seasons though the greatest emphasis took in the period 2004-2006.