Narcissus vs. Daffodils
Jim McKenney (Tue, 16 Mar 2004 13:16:13 PST)

John Grimshaw quoted Parkinson:

as they do many other things, doe call some of these Daffodils Narcissus,
when as all know that know any Latine, that Narcissus is the Lain name, and
Daffodill the English of one and the same thing...

I've often read that passage from Parkinson and wondered what it really
means. Is it really as straightforward as it seems?

Parkinson titles his chapter IX "Narcissus.The Daffodill" and begins that
chapter with the words "There hath beene great confusion among many of our
moderne Writers of plants, in not distinguishing the manifold varieties of
Daffodils..." which I take as much as a historical account as prediction.

Here's what I mean: Parkinson placed in his genus Narcissus (Englished as
"daffodil" by Parkinson) some of the plants we now call daffodils, yet many
others daffodils in the modern sense he placed in the genus Pseudonarcissus
(Englished as "bastard daffodil" by Parkinson). What we now call trumpet
daffodils he placed in Pseudonarcissus, not in Narcissus.

Parkinson also goes on to say: "and this their confusion, in not
distinguishing the name of Narcissus from Pseudonarcissus, is of all other
in this kinde the greatest and grossest error. To auoid therefore that
gulfe, whereof I complaine that so manie haue bin endrenched; and to reduce
the Daffodils into such a methodicall order, that euery one may know, to
what Classis or forme any one doth appertaine, I will first diuide them
into two principall or primary kindes: that is,into Narcissos (sic), true
Daffodils, and Pseudonarcissos (sic), bastard Daffodils: which distinction
I hold to be most necessarie to be set downe first of all, that euery one
may be named without confustion vnder his owne primary kind..."

[In the account which follows the above, Narcissos and Pseudonarcissos are
spelled Narcissus and Pseudonarcissus respectively.]

It seems as if out of one side of his mouth Parkinson is saying that only
the ignorant and idle don't realize that Narcissus and daffodil are
different words for the same thing; but then out of the other side of his
mouth he is warning us of the the "greatest and grossest error" in failing
to distinguish between Narcissus and Pseudonarcissus.

Or maybe what he is really saying is that up until then (his time)
narcissus and daffodil were the same, but in order to make sense out of the
mess, he divided narcissus into narcissus and pseudonarcissus.

Interesting, isn't it, that the modern survival of the term pseudonarcissus
(as a specific epithet) is much narrower in concept than Parkinson's
concept.

As an aside, Parkinson's Narcissus included what we now know as Sprekeia
and Sternbergia and Narcissus Virgineus which "the Indians in Virginia do
call it Attamusco (not "attamusca"!!!), yet it excluded the daffodil Van Sion!

Thus, the argument could be made that when Parkinson says Narcissus, he did
not mean trumpet daffodil. And would he have said " there are two kind of
daffodils: Narcissus and Pseudonarcissus..."?

It's like the modern confusion about the meaning of jonquill (if someone
will rise to the bait : ), I'm prepared!)

Hmmm... maybe I'm one of Parkinson's "idle and ignorant Gardiners".

Jim McKenney
jimmckenney@starpower.net
Montgomery County, Maryland nominally zone 7 but this year masquerading as
zone 5: I've still got aconties in bloom and the first Narcissus opened
only yesterday.

At 08:21 AM 3/22/2004 -0000, you wrote:

as they do many other things, doe call some of these Daffodils Narcissus,
when as all know that know any Latine, that Narcissus is the Lain name, and
Daffodill the English of one and the same thing...

technical writing, when citing a name for reference, in a catalogue etc,
the form should be Narcissus 'Ambergate', but there is no reason why not to
say "'Ambergate' is a lovely daffodil" in normal speech.

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