Latest news with #TheSussexbonfire
BBC News
13-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Hunt for rare daffodils that are feared lost
Rare British daffodils may be hiding in plain sight in gardens and parks and experts want to track them down. They have drawn up a wanted list of long-lost varieties linked to local places, such as the vibrant "bonfire yellow" daffodil associated with bonfire nights in Sussex. Rare varieties could be lost if they're not found and cared for, said Gwen Hines of the plant conservation charity, Plant Heritage. "There's the joy that they bring to all of us in the springtime ... and also, in the future, they might be important for medicines for science," she said. Believed to have been brought to Britain by the Romans, daffodils are a source of galantamine, a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. The much-loved plants have been bred for centuries and now come in a dazzling array of about 30,000 different shapes, sizes and colours. Most daffodils are yellow but some are white, orange and salmon-pink. The gardening charity, the RHS, is asking for help in finding rare and missing daffodils that are feared lost to history and science. The Sussex Bonfire Plant Heritage The Sussex bonfire is named after the famous bonfire night in the Sussex county town of Lewes. The daffodil is one of many bred by the local plant breeder, Noel Burr, but has not been seen for at least 20 years. It is known for its very bright orange-yellow flower. Sussex horticulturist Roger Parsons hopes it is still growing in a garden somewhere. "Perhaps someone planted it in their garden and it still exists but our challenge is to find that person," he said. "Finding this and other daffodils thought to be lost helps maintain those genes for future plant breeding." The Mrs R O Backhouse daffodil RHS This daffodil is one of many bred by the plantswoman Sarah Backhouse. It was named for her by her husband after her death in 1921. The daffodil is unusual in being one of the first daffodils with a pinkish colour. It has a salmon-pink trumpet surrounded by ivory flowers. The daffodil is known to exist in national collections but its actual whereabouts are unknown. The Mrs William Copeland daffodil Daffodils were fashionable in late Victorian and Edwardian times, bred into different shapes and forms. William Fowler Copeland (1872 to 1953) is a particularly well-known daffodil breeder from this time. He named this white, double-flowered daffodil after his wife. The RHS is also calling on the public to record where and when they see daffodils appearing this spring. RHS scientist Dr Kálmán Könyves has spent 15 years studying "these remarkably fascinating plants". He said mapping which daffodils grow where will help us find out how the plants are responding to the changing climate. "With this we can get some data on whether the flowering time changes as our climate changes," he said.
Sky News
12-02-2025
- General
- Sky News
Daffodil hunt launched by Royal Horticultural Society as flower lovers urged to look out for rare varieties
Flower lovers are being urged to help map daffodils across the UK - and look out for rare pink, white and "bonfire" yellow varieties. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is launching a "daffodil diaries" project in commemoration of 100 years since the charity helped save the flower. One of its scientists, James Kirkham Ramsbottom, was awarded the Barr Memorial in 1924 for developing a hot water treatment against eelworms - credited with saving the daffodil. The project runs from 12 February to Saint David's Day on 1 March, when the flowers are worn to mark the patron saint of Wales. Businesses and gardeners are being asked to log where daffodils are blooming, along with basic information such as colour, type and height. RHS scientists will then use the information from the mapping project to understand the environmental influences on the popular spring plant, its spread, and what buyers prefer. In particular, the charity is asking people to look for three varieties of daffodils that are at risk or thought to be extinct, including: • Mrs R O Backhouse, one of the first pink daffodils, which has a solid coral pink trumpet and ivory flowers • Mrs William Copeland - a white double-flowered daffodil which has not been on sale in recent years • The Sussex bonfire, a double-flowered yellow and orange daffodil, which has never been located The RHS said finding rarer daffodils can help better understand gardening heritage in the UK, aid the survival of the varieties, and even ensure the preservation of genetic material to help breed the flowers in the future. Dr Kalman Konyves, daffodil expert with 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." Gwen Hines, chief executive of plant conservation charity Plant Heritage, which helped select which rare cultivars to search for, added: "Springtime daffodils are abundant, but rare varieties could be lost from our gardens and roadsides if they're not found and cared for.
