Narcissus alpestris

DaveKarn@aol.com DaveKarn@aol.com
Wed, 10 Nov 2004 09:34:41 PST
Dear Blueberry?? (a name to specifically address would have been nice . . .)

I am seeking a source for Narcissus alpestris.


Lots of luck!!  The true thing is one of the rarest daffodil species.  It 
is a denizen of high mountain meadows in Spain and used to cold winters 
with, I think, snow cover.  At any rate, it is a difficult plant to grow 
and never has been anything like plentiful!

There seems to be some confusion over the name for this plant, but from 
what I can find the Narcissus Pseudonarcissus  Moschata(var) is not the 
plant I am looking for.  In the Random House Book of Bulbs the plant should 
be N. psuedonarcissus Moschata -they say it was formerly called Narcissus 
alpestris Pugsley.  From what I am finding the Moschata is a regular 
daffodil like flower not the drooping petalled alpestris.  At any rate, I 
need help.  I have only been able to find Moschata.


N. ps moschatus is the correct name for the "drooping petalled" flower.  It 
is whitish, has forward leaning petals that largely parallel the 
trumpet-shaped corona and is available in the trade (particularly England) 
from time to time.  N. alpestris has long been described similarly but it 
is a smaller flower of the same configuration but a clear white in 
color.  Current thinking (depends on the botanist one follows, I guess) is 
that alpestris is simply a smaller form of moschatus.  Take your pick.  A 
lot of narcissus botanical nomenclature is in flux.  Much of it was not 
described from in-depth field studies but herbarium specimens and, like all 
human-created things, resistant to change.  Recent studies of wild 
populations are questioning some of these earlier descriptions.  In 
particular, those field observations of the Englishman, John Blanchard and 
the American, Katherine Andersen.


Best,
Dave Karnstedt
Cascade Daffodils
Silverton, Oregon, USA


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