Britons urged to join hunt for rare daffodil breeds amid extinction fears
Britons have been asked to hunt for rare pink, white and 'bonfire yellow' daffodils in order to save threatened varieties from extinction.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), which is running the daffodil count, is hoping to build a map of the spring blooms. It is asking people to log where daffodils are flowering in their area along with basic information such as colour, type and height.
It is hoped the data will help RHS scientists understand environmental influences on the plant, as well as revealing rare varieties at risk of being lost for ever.
There are three varieties of daffodil in particular the plant charity has asked the public to look out for. These include the Mrs RO Backhouse, which was one of the first pink daffodils to be bred, in 1923, with a solid coral-pink trumpet and ivory flowers. It is known to exist in national collections but its whereabouts beyond that is a mystery.
Scientists are also trying to find the Mrs William Copeland – a white, double-flowered daffodil, which has not been for sale in recent years but is known to have been given to a direct descendant of its original UK breeder by an American grower in the early 2000s.
The charity is also looking for the Sussex Bonfire – a double-flowered yellow and orange breed that has not been seen since 1998.
Gwen Hines, the CEO of the charity Plant Heritage, said: 'Springtime daffodils are abundant, but rare varieties could be lost from our gardens and roadsides if they're not found and cared for. While six national plant collections do protect some, many others aren't yet safeguarded, which is why we encourage everyone to look for rare varieties this spring.'
It is hoped that finding these unusual flowers will help aid their survival and allow scientists to preserve their genetic material, which could be valuable for future breeding of daffodils. It is important to have varied varieties of flowers as the climate changes and some are found to be more resilient to extreme weather than others.
All information and images of daffodils thought to be the above varieties should be submitted via the RHS website. Although now ubiquitous across the UK and a sign of spring, daffodils originated in the Iberian peninsula and north Africa. They were originally grown for medicinal use, but by the 1600s they began to be noticed for their cheerful blooms and grown for aesthetic purposes. There was a daffodil boom in Britain in the 1800s and enthusiasts hybridised them to create new garden daffodil forms and colours. Now, the UK grows 90% of the world's cut flower daffodils.
Dr Kálmán Könyves, principal scientist in the cultivated plant diversity team at the RHS, said: 'Daffodils have come to mark the arrival of spring and are celebrated for their welcome burst of colour in gardens, parks and roadsides. But there's more to this ubiquitous yellow flower than meets the eye, with 31,000 known varieties available in green, pink and red. Understanding where they can be found will help us in preserving this diversity for the future.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
New coronavirus only ‘one small step from spilling over into humans' and sparking widespread outbreak, say scientists
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A NEW coronavirus may only be "a small step away from spilling over into humans", scientists have warned - sparking fears of another pandemic. Scientists believe the variant, called HKU5-CoV-2, may infect a broader range of animals than Covid-19 and may have more potential for jumping between species. 1 Dr Michael Letko, a molecular virologist at WSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, lead the research into the concerning variant Credit: Ted S. Warren/College of Veterinary Medicine/WSU American scientists fear the virus - found in China - may be one small mutation away from also being able to infect humans, which could lead to a widespread outbreak. The new study, published in Nature Communications, looked at a lesser-known group of coronaviruses called merbecoviruses. It includes HKU5 and MERS-CoV, which is responsible for the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. First noted in 2012, the virus typically spreads from infected camels to humans causes severe respiratory disease, which can be fatal to 34 per cent of its victims. The research team, which included scientists at Washington State University (WSU), the California Institute of Technology and the University of North Carolina, sought to understand how merbecoviruses infiltrate the cells of their hosts. While most bugs in the group seemed to pose little threat to people, scientists said one subgroup, HKU5, has concerning traits. Michael Letko, a virologist at WSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, said: "Merbecoviruses – and HKU5 viruses in particular – really hadn't been looked at much, but our study shows how these viruses infect cells. "What we also found is HKU5 viruses may be only a small step away from being able to spill over into humans." Like other coronaviruses, merbecoviruses rely on a spike protein to bind to receptors and invade host cells. Dr Letko's team used virus-like particles containing the part of the spike protein responsible for binding to receptors and tested their ability to infect cells in their lab. World is not prepared for looming Disease X pandemic says Doctor Tedros Ghebreyesus While most merbecoviruses appeared unlikely to be able to infect humans, HKU5 viruses — which have been found across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East — were shown to use a host receptor known as ACE2, the same used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19. But for now HKU5 viruses can only use the ACE2 gene in bats and can't deploy it on humans nearly as well. Examining HKU5 viruses found in Asia - where their host is the Japanese house bat - the researchers demonstrated some mutations in the spike protein that may allow the viruses to bind to ACE2 receptors in other species, including humans. 'These viruses are so closely related to MERS, so we have to be concerned if they ever infect humans,' Dr Letko said. 'While there's no evidence they've crossed into people yet, the potential is there — and that makes them worth watching.' Dr Letko said the study and its methods could be used for future research projects and to help the development of new vaccines and treatments. What is the new Covid variant confirmed in the UK? The new strain - called NB.1.8.1 - has been spotted in the parts of the UK, such as Ireland and Wales. It's also cropped up in Europe, the US and Australia, as well as Egypt, the Maldives, Thailand, China and Hong Kong. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently issued a warning over NB.1.8.1, designating it as a "variant under monitoring" due to its global spread and key mutations. 'Despite a concurrent increase in cases and hospitalisations in some countries where NB.1.8.1 is widespread, current data do not indicate that this variant leads to more severe illness than other variants in circulation,' the WHO said. But while it may not be particularly severe, it may infect people more easily than previous variants, with some evidence suggesting that the variant binds more tightly to human cells. A recent study that has not yet been peer reviewed suggests that a person infected with NB.1.8.1 may be more likely to pass the virus on to someone else, compared to earlier variants. The WHO stressed that, based on available evidence, the variant's risk to public health was "low at the global level". "Currently approved Covid-19 vaccines are expected to remain effective to this variant against symptomatic and severe disease," it added. Symptoms include sore throat, fatigue, fever, mild cough, muscle aches and a blocked nose. Some people may also get gastrointestinal symptoms. It's not the first time concerns have been raised over HKU5. Earlier this year, Chinese scientists warned that HKU5-CoV-2 may be able to jump straight from bats to humans without another animal in between. This suggests a higher potential for zoonotic spillover - when a disease spreads from animal to human. If there is no 'intermediate 'middle animal', it becomes harder to predict and prevent spillover events through interactions such as wildlife trading or hunting. "There is the potential for this new virus to spillover to human, like previous coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2," said Dr Gary R McLean, a research fellow at the Imperial College London, who was not involved in the study. But he noted that, so far, there is no "evidence" that HKU5-CoV-2 can infect people – the paper is based on tests in a laboratory, showing the bug's "potential". "Hopefully the Chinese authorities now have good surveillance systems in place and the laboratories work to rigid safety standards that minimise the risk of spillover occurring," he said. The WHO has previously listed MERS and Covid as two of several diseases - alongside the mysterious disease X - that could spark a pandemic, but for which there is no specific treatment or vaccine.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Harrowing map shows cancer explosion that'll make you put down your favorite drink... have you left it too late?
Drinking alcohol is fueling a silent epidemic of cancer that's now killing 70 Americans every day, a study has claimed. Researchers from the University of Miami say the number of American adults dying from alcohol-linked cancers has doubled over the last three decades. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes.
Spectator
2 days ago
- Spectator
How Britain can poach America's top scientists
From the time of Newton, Britain led the world in science. That began to change in 1940, when, with the Battle of Britain raging, Winston Churchill sent the scientist Henry Tizard on a secret mission to America. His objective was to secure financial and industrial help in the fight against Hitler. His currency was British military technology, in particular the cavity magnetron, a device that made it possible to locate the enemy with radar. This wowed the Americans and achieved his objective. According to one historian, it was 'the most valuable cargo ever brought to [America's] shores.' While this was a hand-over of scientific power, it catalysed the Anglo-American scientific alliance, which has seen a flow of talent ever since between our two nations. At times there have been concerns that this might be one-way traffic: from us to them.
