One day, when Narcissus was hunting in the woods, a nubile wood nymph named Echo saw him and fell in love, but Narcissus rejected her. Echo was so devastated by his rejection that she hid in cave and died. The goddess, Nemesis, heard about poor Echo, and lured Narcissus to a shimmering lake. There in his vain state, he was unable to resist gazing at his own reflection, and fell in love with himself! As he gazed, the divine penalty took effect, and he simply faded away. In his place sprang up the golden flower that bears his name today.
All daffodils have a central trumpet-shaped corona surrounded by a ring of petals. The traditional daffodil has a golden yellow colour all over, but the corona may often feature a contrasting colour. Breeders have developed some daffodils with a double or triple row of petals, making them resemble a small golden ball. Other cultivars have frilled petals, or an elongated or compressed central corona.
Daffodils are grown around the world, from their native habitats in Spain, Portugal, France and Morocco, across the Mediterranean into Greece, to gardens in Alaska and Australia.
Daffodils are grown from bulbs and are one of the most popular spring-blooming flowers
Poets often write about daffodils and William Wordsworth, the legendary British poet wrote of the flowers in his classic poem, "Daffodils", published in 1804. This is the poem that so artfully describes the poet viewing "ten thousand" daffodils beside a lake, and is also the source of the phrase, "Dancing with Daffodils."
