Narcissus pseudonarcissus Daffodil / Wild Daffodil

A well known bulbous perennial which flowers in early spring. As well as being an extremely common plant in parks, gardens, churchyards and amenity grasslands, it is also planted widely in roadside verges and naturalised populations, which can persist for many years, are common. There are many cultivars and hybrids. Native populations grow in ash and oak woodlands but also occur in grasslands, hedgebanks and in scrub habitats. Differentiating between truly native populations and those derived from cultivars is very difficult, particularly since wild daffodils are available for cultivation and naturalising. Authentic, native wild daffodils are usually smaller than the tall cultivars commonly grown in gardens and the outer 'petals' of their flowers are much paler than the central 'trumpet' which is often a rich yellow colour and the leaves are rather glaucous and silvery. There is an outstanding population of wild daffodils in Coed y Bwl limestone ash woodland (SSSI) near St. Brides Major in the Vale of Glamorgan. Although there is nothing similar to the Coed y Bwl population in West Glamorgan, there are some small coastal populations with plants that conform to wild daffodil morphology.