Wednesday, March 25, 2009

What's in a name...


Walked today after work in part rain, part sunshine. Came across a group of these miniature jonquils, also known as narcissus.

You might recall the Greek myth about Narcissus, who so fell in love with his reflection in a pool that he fell in and drowned (or, in another version, wasted away, unable to tear his gaze from his reflection). At the end of the story, a plant sprang from where he died, and was named after him.

But these flowers look so cheerful and bright -- and not narcissistic. I think they have been wrongly named. Jonquil or daffodil suits them much better.

2 comments:

Katie said...

Are these miniature-sized daffodils? Hard to tell the size from the photo. What's not to like about these flowers; too bad the blooms don't last all that long. I guess they waste away quickly like Narcissus!

Ms M said...

Yes, they are miniature daffodils. I didn't think to place something for scale. You're right; they wither quickly. We'll have to see what shape they're in when we walk this weekend. On the day of this photo, they were bright and "perky".