© irene waters 2014
My husband brought home a dead looking bunch of daffodils the other day purchased in a fund raiser to collect funds for cancer research. Daffodil day is held each year for this purpose and as 115 Australians die each day from cancer growing hope for better treatment and thus more survivors is a very worthwhile cause.
The next day the dead bunch of daffodils had opened into a gorgeous showing of gold and yellow. It made me think that the the other name for daffodil is truly warranted – Narcissus. Where this name comes from is not known fact though it is rumoured that on the ground that Narcissus (the chap that couldn’t stop staring at his reflections in puddles) died these blooms sprung up for the first time or it could have happened vice versa. It could have been as Pliny expressed – named for its narcotic properties.
That is the amazing thing about the beautiful daffodil. It is highly toxic. They contain poisons lycorine (mostly in the bulb and leaves) and norbelladine. Of the two hundred different chemical structures of the latter poison 79 are found in the humble daffodil to the detriment of a number of children at a school in Suffolk who were poisoned when a daffodil bulb was mistaken for an onion and put in the cookery class soup.
© irene waters 2014
You also have to feel very sorry for the poor old florist who suffers from an ailment known as “daffodil itch” which causes a severe dermatitis with itchiness, dryness, scaly skin, redness and thickening of the nail. All this because of a poison, calcium oxalate, in the sap.
Still there is nothing like going through a cold winter (which I no longer have to do) and seeing those first bulbs burst into colour. It is a sure sign that spring has sprung and summer is around the corner. William Wordsworth vision is what I like to see.
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
© irene waters 2014
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
How lovely! Daffodils are some of my favorite flowers – and I get to enjoy them vicariously because it’s your spring! There is a park in Liverpool that has been planted with daffodil bulbs – I was there for a meeting one April when they were all in bloom – acres and acres of them. Spectacular!
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There is nothing like a field of daffodils except perhaps a field of tulips.
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When I first read your post, I wondered “where does she live? It’s August here and no daffodils in sight” and then I figured you live down under, so it makes absolute sense that you should have daffodils now.
My wife and I used to live Edinburgh; we often went for long walks in the public gardens, which, in spring, where covered in daffodils. Since then, the daffodil has become sort of our common flower.
I had no idea about its poisonous effect, but I knew how it got named ‘Narcissus’ after the mythological person (remember, I’m Greek 😉
Loved your post!
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Thanks Nicholas for sharing your time in Edinburgh. You are quite right – Australia is my home and we are just heading towards summer.
Daffodils are such a bright and breezy flower you don’t think of there being a darker side but I guess that reflects many things in life. I still love them. 🙂
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love daffs! a sign of spring!
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or with global coverage – a sign of winter. 🙂
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I knew you guys were upside down….
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I love that sunny, golden colour. It is such a cheerful sight in the spring. Our daffodils don’t come out until April. We have a long wait still so I will just have to enjoy yours 🙂
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And you are welcome Joanne. 🙂
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Seems so strange seeing photos of daffs at this time of year…and your photos are lovely, a perfect harbinger of spring for you 🙂 I know what you mean about them looking dead and then blooming into beautiful life but I had no idea about them being so poisonous nor about those poor children in Suffolk. Since I grew up there, I paid great attention to that but don’t recall getting ill from soup so glad I escaped that ;-). Love your snippets of highly interesting information and your wonderful sense of humour. Great post. Looks as if spring is well on the way for you and the weather is improving. Time for a walk now I think. Have a great weekend my friend and see you soon 🙂 ❤
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It was at Gorseland Primary school in Marlesham Heath Suffolk. Yes it is certainly walking weather now. Off we go. ❤ 🙂
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Ahh….well I was safe then 😉 No flooding for our walk I hope…a nice spring day 🙂 ❤
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That’s for sure.
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So much knowledge of daffodils you have! The pictures, prose and poem make for a sunny post!
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Thanks Charli. They are a sunny flower. 🙂
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