List of Narcissus species explained

This list of Narcissus species shows the accepted species names within the genus Narcissus, which are predominantly spring perennial plants in the Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis) family. Various common names including daffodil, narcissus, and jonquil are used to describe all or some members of the genus. The list of species is arranged by subgenus and section. Estimates of the number of species in Narcissus have varied widely, from anywhere between 16 and nearly 160, even in the modern era. Carl Linnaeus originally included six species in 1753.

Much of the variation lies in the definition of species, and whether closely related taxa are considered separate species or subspecies. Thus, a very wide view of each species, such as Webb's results in few species, while a very narrow view such as that of Fernandes results in a larger number. Another factor is the status of hybrids, given natural hybridisation. There is a distinction between what are referred to as 'ancient hybrids' which are found occurring over a relatively large area, and 'recent hybrids' with a more restricted range and found growing as solitary plants amongst their parents. The former are more often considered as separate species.

Fernandes (1951) accepted 22 species, on which were based the 27 species listed by Webb in the 1980 Flora Europaea. By 1968, Fernandes had accepted 63 species, and by 1990 Blanchard listed 65 species, and Erhardt 66 in 1993. In 2006 the International Daffodil Register listed 87 species. In contrast, the genetic study by Zonneveld (2008) resulted in only 36 species (for list and comparison with Webb, see Zonneveld Table 4).

, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families accepts 52 species, along with at least 60 hybrids. Another important source is the Royal Horticultural Society's Botanical Classification and list of botanical names (October 2014) which is the basis of their International Daffodil Register. This is a searchable list and had 81 accepted names in its October 2014 release.

Table of Narcissus species

Over 300 synonymous species names are listed, reflecting wide variations in how the genus is divided into species. These have been arranged into Sections. These should not be confused with the horticultural classification of cultivars into divisions by the Royal Horticultural Society^[1]

Sections (with type species) shown are according to Zonneveld (2008). In addition Mathew (2002) further divides the sections into subsections.

• Apodanthi (N. calcicola)
• Bulbocodium (N. bulbocodium)
• Ganymedes (N. triandrus)
• Jonquillae (N. jonquilla)
• Juncifolii (N. assoanus)
• Narcissus (N. poeticus)
• Nevadensis (N. nevadensis)
• Pseudonarcissus (N. pseudonarcissus)
• Tapeinanthus (N. cavanillesii)
• Serotini (N. serotinus)
• Tazettae (N. tazetta)

For a list of species by Section according to the Royal Horticultural Society, see the RHS Botanical Classification (updated September 2013), which is the basis of their International Daffodil Register.^[2]

Name	Authority	Common name	Image	Distribution
Subgenus Hermione (Haw.) Spach. Type species: N. tazetta
Section Aurelia (Gay) Baker Narcissus broussonetii (incorporated into Tazettae, 2008)
Section Serotini Parlatore
Narcissus obsoletus syn. N. miniatus	(Haw.) Spach Donnison-Morgan, Koopowitz & Zonneveld			West, north and east Mediterranean basin Map
Narcissus serotinus Type species	L.			Spain, NW Africa Additional map
Section Tazettae de Candolle
Narcissus broussonetii[3]	Lag. y Seg.			North Africa Map
Narcissus dubius	Gouan			NW Spain, S France Additional map
Narcissus elegans	(Haw.) Spach		Image	West Mediterranean Map
Narcissus papyraceus syn. N. barlae	Ker Gawl. Parlatore	Paperwhite		NW Africa, west and north Mediterranean Additional map
Narcissus tazetta Type species	L.			Mediterranean basin, Middle East Map
Subgenus Narcissus L. Type species: N. poeticus
Section Apodanthi A.Fernandes
Narcissus albimarginatus	D.Müll.-Doblies & U.Müll.-Doblies		Image	Morocco Map
Narcissus calcicola Type species	Mendonça
Narcissus rupicola syn. N. atlanticus	Dufour ex Schult.f. Stern			Portugal, Spain, Morocco Additional map
Narcissus scaberulus	Henriq.		Image
Previously N. cuatrecasasii Fern.Casas (moved to Jonquillae)
Section Bulbocodium de Candolle
Narcissus bulbocodium Type species	L.	Hoop-petticoat daffodil		France, Spain Map
Narcissus cantabricus	DC.	White Hoop-petticoat Daffodil		Spain, NW Africa Additional map
Narcissus foliosus	(Maire) Fern.Casas		Image	Morocco Map
Narcissus hedraeanthus	(Webb & Heldr.) Colmeiro
Narcissus nivalis	Graells		Image	Spain, Portugal Map
Narcissus obesus	Salisb.
Narcissus romieuxii	Braun-Blanq. & Maire			Morocco Map
Doubtful Narcissus hesperidis Fern.Casas Narcissus jeanmonodii Fern.Casas Narcissus tingitanus Fern.Casas
Section Ganymedes (Haworth) Schultes f.
Narcissus lusitanicus	Dorda & Fern. Casas			Portugal Map
Narcissus pallidulus syn. N. cernuus[4]	Graells Salisb.		Image	Spain, Portugal Map
Narcissus triandrus[5] Type species	L.	Angel's-tears		France, Spain, Portugal Map
Section Jonquilla de Candolle[6]
Narcissus blanchardii syn. N. flavus[7]	Zonn. stat. nov. Lag.		Image	Portugal, Spain Map
Narcissus cuatrecasasii[8]	Fern.Casas, Lainz & Ruiz Rejon			Spain, Morocco Additional map
Narcissus jonquilla Type species	L.	Jonquil Rush daffodil
Narcissus viridiflorus	Schousb.			Gibraltar, Morocco Map
Section Juncifolii (A. Fern.) Zonn. sect nov.[9]
Narcissus assoanus Type species	Dufour	Rush-leaf jonquil			E Spain, S France Additional map
Narcissus gaditanus	Boiss. & Reuter
Section Narcissus L.
Narcissus poeticus Type species	L.	Poet's Narcissus		Central Europe Map
Section Nevadensis Zonn. sect. nov [10]
Narcissus bujei[11]	Fern. Casas		Image	S Spain
Narcissus longispathus[12]	Pugsley			S Spain Map
Narcissus nevadensis Type species	Pugsley
Section Pseudonarcissus de Candolle[13] Trumpet daffodils
Narcissus abscissus	(Haw.) Roem. & Schult.f.		Image	Spain, S France Additional map
Narcissus asturiensis	(Jord.) Pugsley			N Spain, Portugal Map
Narcissus cyclamineus	DC.	Cyclamen-flowered Daffodil		Portugal, NW Spain Map
Narcissus jacetanus	Fern.Casas			NE Spain Map
Narcissus moleroi	Fern.Casas		Image
Narcissus primigenius	(Fern.Suárez ex M.Laínz) Fern.Casas & Laínz		Image
Narcissus pseudonarcissus Type species	L.	Wild Daffodil		W. Europe Map
Previously N. alcaracensis syn. N. longispathus N. confusus Pugsley syn. N. pseudonarcissus N. hispanicus Gouan syn. N. pseudonarcissus (Spanish Daffodil) N. longispathus (moved to Nevadensis) N. minor syn. N. pseudonarcissus (Lesser Wild Daffodil) N. moschatus syn. N. pseudonarcissus (White Daffodil) N. nevadensis Pugsley (moved to Nevadensis) N. obvallaris syn. N. pseudonarcissus (Tenby Daffodil) N. radinganorum Fern. Casas syn. N. pseudonarcissus
Section Tapeinanthus (Herbert) Traub
Narcissus cavanillesii	Barra & G.López			Portugal, Spain, NW Africa Additional map

Intersectional hybrids (Nothospecies)

• Narcissus x alleniæ Donnison-Morgan (N. obsoletus × N. viridiflorus)
• Narcissus x obsoletus (Haw.) Spach (N. elegans × N. serotinus)^[14]
• Narcissus × medioluteus syn. N. biflorus

See also

• Taxonomy of Narcissus
• List of Narcissus horticultural divisions
• List of AGM narcissus - species and cultivars which have won the RHS Award of Garden Merit
• List of Narcissus species (Spanish version)

Works cited

Books

• Book: Aedo. C. Talavera. S. Andrés. C. Arista. M. Fernández Piedra. MP. Rico. E. Crespo. MB. Quintanar. A. Herrero. A. Aedo. C. Flora Iberica. Vol 20. 2014. Real Jardín Botánico, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Madrid. http://www.floraiberica.es/floraiberica/texto/imprenta/tomoXX/20_184_05_Narcissus.pdf. 30 November 2014. Narcissus L.. Spanish.
• Book: Blanchard. J. W.. Narcissus: a guide to wild daffodils. 1990. Alpine Garden Society. Surrey, UK. 978-0-900048-53-1.
• Book: Erhardt. Walter. Narzissen: Osterglocken, Jonquillen, Tazetten. 1993. E. Ulmer. Stuttgart (Hohenheim). 978-3-8001-6489-9. 18 October 2014. german.
• Book: Fernandes. A.. Daffodil and Tulip Year Book. 1968. 37–66. http://dafflibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Fernandes-Keys-v2.pdf. 23 October 2014. Keys to the identification of native and naturalized taxa of the genus Narcissus L..
• Book: Hanks. Gordon R. Narcissus and Daffodil: The Genus Narcissus. 2002. CRC Press. London. 978-0-203-21935-5. 2 October 2014.
• Book: AH Haworth

. Haworth. A.H.. AH Haworth. Narcissinearum Monographia. 1831. Ridgway. London. 2nd.. 20 October 2014.

• Book: Carl Linnaeus

. Linnaeus. Carl. Carl Linnaeus. Species Plantarum vol. 1. 1753. 289. 2 October 2014.

• Book: Mathew. B.. Classification of the genus Narcissus. 30–52. 2 October 2014. 2002. CRC Press . 9780203219355. In
• Book: Tutin. T. G.. Heywood. V H. N. A.. Burges. D. M.. Moore. D. H.. Valentine. S. M.. Walters. D. A.. Webb. Vernon Heywood. Flora Europaea. Volume 5, Alismataceae to Orchidaceae (monocotyledones). 1980. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, England. 978-0-521-20108-7. 1 December 2015. .
• Book: Webb. D. A.. Narcissus L. 78–84. 4 October 2014. 1980. Cambridge University Press . 9780521201087., in

Articles

• Fernandes. A.. Sur la phylogenie des especes du genre Narcissus L.. Boletim da Sociedade Broteriana II. 1951. 25. 113–190. 4 October 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141006151144/http://bibdigital.bot.uc.pt/obras/UCFCTBt-E-21-26-29_72/UCFCTBt-E-21-26-29_72_item1/UCFCTBt-E-21-26-s2-25/UCFCTBt-E-21-26-s2-25_item1/P119.html. 6 October 2014.
• Fernández-Casas. Francisco Javier. Narcissorum Notulae, XXXI. es. Fontqueria. 2011. 56. 26. 239–248. 5 October 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141006131912/http://bibdigital.rjb.csic.es/PDF/Fontqueria_56_26.pdf. 6 October 2014.
• Medrano. Mónica. López-Perea. Esmeralda. Herrera. Carlos M.. Population Genetics Methods Applied to a Species Delimitation Problem: Endemic Trumpet Daffodils (Narcissus Section Pseudonarcissi) from the Southern Iberian Peninsula. International Journal of Plant Sciences. 175. 5, June. 501–517. 2014. 10.1086/675977. . 10261/101673. 44161272.
• Zonneveld. B. J. M.. The systematic value of nuclear DNA content for all species of Narcissus L. (Amaryllidaceae). Plant Systematics and Evolution. 2008. 275. 1–2. 109–132. 10.1007/s00606-008-0015-1. free. 1887/13962. free.

Websites

• Web site: Akers. J.. Narcissus flavus. Daffnet. American Daffodil Society. 29 November 2014. October 10. 2011.

Further reading

• Web site: Daffodils. Royal Horticultural Society. 4 November 2014. none. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141110112922/https://www.rhs.org.uk/Advice/Profile?PID=365. 10 November 2014.
• Web site: DaffSeek - Daffodil Database with Photos. American Daffodil Society. 4 November 2014. none.
• Web site: Narcissus. The Plant List. 2013. Version 1.1. 3 November 2014. none.
• Web site: How to grow daffodils. Royal Horticultural Society. 29 June 2020. none.

Notes and References

1. http://stldaffodilclub.org/hortclass.htm Royal Horticultural Society System of Classification
2. https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/plant-registration-forms/daffbotanical RHS Botanical Classification
3. Moved from Aurelia
4. Not currently accepted by The Plant List, which lists it as a synonym of N. cernuus Salisb., which is listed by Mathews as a variety of N. triandrus.
5. N. lusitanicus and N. pallidulus originally considered subspecies or varieties of N. triandrus. However both Zonnefeld (2008), together with Dorda and Fernandez Casas (1989) and Perez-Barrales et al. (2006) find sufficient evidence to consider these to be separate species
6. N. assoanus Dufour ex Schult. & Schult.f. and N. gaditanus Boiss. & Reut. were previously included in Jonquilla but were moved to Juncifolii in 2008 when this was split off
7. N. flavus is the accepted name according to The Plant List, but Zonneveld, who described the taxon, disputes this.
8. Moved from Apodanthi
9. Fernandes considered this a subsection of Jonquilla
10. Although Aedo in the Flora Iberica considered these to all be Narcissus pseudonarcissus L. subsp. nevadensis (Pugsley) A. Fern., Medrano et al. criticised this approach for ignoring phylogenetic evidence to the contrary, and their data support the differentiation into these three species.
11. While the World Checklist considers this to be a synonym of N. longispathus, Zonneveld treated it as a separate species on the basis of DNA content
12. Moved from Pseudonarcissus
13. The taxonomy and speciation of Section Pseudonarcissus, the largest section, has proved particularly problematic, even after splitting it into two. Zonneveld subdivided the section into two sections Pseudonarcissus (France, northern Spain and Portugal) and Nevadensis (southern Spain). Opinions as to the number of species varies considerably, from considering the section as a single variable species to a section with a very large number of species. Zonneveld accepted eight, with those taxa having similar amounts of DNA considered as either synonyms or subspecies. He accepted eight subspecies. Mathew considered there to be two groups, which he labelled A (small flowers up to 3.5 cm in diameter) and B (large flowers, 5–12 cm in diameter).
14. Accepted as species by World Checklist, but see Zonnefeld