Histoire de l'ADS

The genesis of The American Daffodil Society was an article entitled “Who will Join a Daffodil Society?” which Paul Frese, then editor of Popular Gardening, published in the October, 1953, issue of that magazine. Until then, organized activity in the growing and showing of daffodils was confined to the Maryland Daffodil Society, the Garden Club of Virginia, and the Washington Daffodil Society.

More than 400 responses were received and turned over to these groups to proceed with the details of creating a national society. A call went out to those who had expressed their interest to attend an organizational meeting to be held at Chevy Chase, Maryland, on April 9, 1954. On that occasion, the American Daffodil Society was voted into existence and temporary officers elected. The Society’s organization was completed on January 22, 1955, when the Board of Directors elected Carey E. Quinn, President; Willis H. Wheeler, Secretary; and Mrs. William A. (Serena) Bridges, Treasurer. The American Daffodil Society was incorporated on February 20, 1958.

The first activity of the American Daffodil Society was to develop a publication. Over the years, this evolved from mimeographed sheets issued occasionally, through the small Daffodil Bulletin. The Bulletin was issued quarterly in conjunction with a yearbook. Today, the quarterly publication, Daffodil Journal, is greatly enlarged with beautiful color photographs and articles contributed by national and international daffodil enthusiasts. The Daffodil Journal is now accepted as one of the leading publication of daffodil news and views from around the world.

In 1964, the American Daffodil Society edited its Journal, and the American Horticultural Society published the Daffodil Handbook and issued in 1966 as a special issue of its quarterly magazine. The Daffodil Handbook is an encyclopedic reference work on all aspects of the flower and is available to read at DaffLibrary.org, (under “and More”).

Recently, the American Daffodil Society made a commitment to provide a wide range of daffodil information and resources for free to the public using the Internet. To this end, the society hosts and maintains four daffodil websites on American Daffodil Society owned computer servers, the main American Daffodil Society web site: daffodilusa.org, the discussion forum: DaffNet.org, the free online library: DaffLibrary.org, the free presentation web site: DaffTube.org and the daffodil database, complete with pedigree trees, photos and hybridizing tools: DaffSeek.org. This commitment established the American Daffodil Society as a premier provider of Internet tools for daffodils.

Histoire de narcisses

Narcissus is a classical Greek name in honor of a beautiful youth who became so entranced with his own reflection that he pined away and the gods turned him into this flower.  Although the name daffodil is often applied only to the larger trumpet-flowered cultivars, with the short-cupped and multi-headed cultivars referred to as narcissi, breeders and other enthusiasts refer to all kinds as daffodils.

Narcissus species are found in a variety of habitats in Europe and North Africa ranging from sea level to subalpine meadows, woodlands and rocky places.  Spain hosts the greatest variety of species, but they can also be found in Morocco, Portugal, western France, Italy, and other countries.

Daffodils were introduced into gardens at a very early stage in the history of man. About 300 BC, the Greek botanist and philosopher Theophrastus listed and described many of the earliest known kinds of narcissus in his nine-volume ‘Enquiry into Plants‘.  However, it was not until the 19th century that classification of the many narcissus species was attempted.

Due to their popularity as cultivated plants, thousands of cultivars have been bred by hybridizers or “raisers” around the world. These cultivars are usually grown in spring, or less frequently in autumn or winter.  The perianths (petals) are mostly yellow or white but can occasionally be orange, green, or red or a combination of these colors.  Today, many cultivars have brightly colored coronas (cups) which may be yellow, white, pink, orange, red, green or a combination of these.

Histoire de Classification

En 1884, la première conférence de la jonquille de la Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) a eu lieu et de ses tulipes et de narcisses comité a été formé (maintenant appelé la jonquille et des tulipes comité).

La RHS utilise cette méthode de classification depuis 1908 dans les jardins ou les « Shows ».   Sept divisions furent adoptées, d’abord pour définir la taille des Narcisses.

En 1910 onze divisions furent définies, et quelques améliorations furent mises en place avant 1950.

Les onze division régime a été élargie à douze en 1969, lors de demi-couronne jonquilles ont été ajoutés et ont eu la division 11, tandis que les divers jonquilles auparavant dans la division 11 ont été transférés à la nouvelle Division 12.

En 1975 la RHS adopte la méthode de définition des couleurs de Dr Tom Throckmorton de l’Iowa , Etats Unis.

En 1998, a la demande de l’Association Hollandaise «Royal Général Bulbgrowers », la division 11 fut séparé en deux sous-groupes, Narcisses papillon et Narcisses à fleur d’orchidée.

Les douze divisions ont été étendus à treize en 1998, lorsque Bulbocodium hybrides ont été ajoutés. Celles-ci ont été donné division 10, tandis que les jonquilles distingue uniquement par leur nom scientifique ont été transférées de cette division à la division 13.

Classification Aujourd’hui

The RHS, as the International Daffodil Registration authority for cultivars, plays a vital role in promoting uniformity, accuracy and stability in the naming of Narcissus.

Divisions

The RHS division classification consists of thirteen divisions or groups of daffodils, identified by numbers.   Each daffodil cultivar or garden hybrid is placed into one of the first twelve divisions.  Wild forms of daffodils or “species” are placed in Division 13.   Whether wild or cultivated, once a selection has been distinguished by a cultivar name it is assigned to one of Divisions 1 to 12.

Code des couleurs

The Throckmorton color coding system, which is part of the official RHS daffodil classification system, divides the perianths (cups) and coronas (petals) into three zones with the color codes Y, W, O, R, P, or G.