Narcissus vs. Jonquil

Narcissus

• "Narcissus" is the botanical, or genus, name given in 1753 to a group of flowers having a ruffle or trumpet surrounded by petals. To confuse things even more, narcissus flowers are in the Amaryllis family. The word "narcissus" means to be numb or in a stupor, which may relate to the feeling one gets when smelling the fragrant flower or to the fact that the bulb from which it grows is poisonous. A character from Greek mythology was called Narcissus, and he could not stop looking at himself in any reflection because he was so beautiful, just like the spring-blooming flowers.

Jonquil

• "Jonquil" is a type of narcissus. In the English countryside, the word refers to common daffodils that are yellow in color, but there is a particular classification for the jonquil. The American Daffodil Society specifies 13 divisions of narcissus, and jonquil is one of those divisions. What is termed a jonquil in England may not be from division 7 of the American Daffodil Society classifications.

Description

• The Royal Horticultural Society also has classifications for narcissus, and it defines jonquil as one classification called Narcissus jonquilla. It describes a jonquil as having sweet-smelling, small yellow flowers that bloom in clusters of three to six. The leaves are not thin and flat like other narcissus foliage but are rushlike in nature.

  Narcissus comes in all kinds of shapes, such as trumpet, large-cup and small-cup; and colors have a broader range with white, yellow and pale green petals with orange or pink cups or trumpets. Most narcissus leaves are narrow and green, but flat, distinguishing a difference from the jonquil.

Jonquil Hybrids

• The original Narcissus jonquilla were used to develop several hybrids. Narcissus x odorus or Campernelle jonquil is larger than the original, with two to three flowers appearing above blue-gray foliage. Texas Star, or Narcissus x intermedius, has pale yellow flowers that are borne on very short stems.