Narcissus

Trumpet Narcissus, Daffodil, Jonquil, Narcissus

Message of the Flower

Power of Beauty

The Mother’s Comment

Beauty acquires its power only when it is surrendered to the Divine.

Spiritual Message by the Mother/ Quotes by Sri Aurobindo

Let beauty be your constant ideal.

The beauty of the soul

The beauty of sentiments

The beauty of thoughts

The beauty of the action

The beauty in the work

so that nothing comes out of your hands which is not an expression of pure and harmonious beauty.

And the Divine Help shall always be with you.

The Mother, On Education: Curriculum

In the world of forms a violation of Beauty is as great a fault as a violation of Truth in the world of ideas. For Beauty is the worship Nature offers to the supreme Master of the universe; Beauty is the divine language in forms. And a consciousness of the Divine which is not translated externally by an understanding and expression of Beauty would be an incomplete consciousness.

The Mother, Prayers and Meditations: January 29, 1917

Delight is the soul of existence, beauty the intense impression, the concentrated form of delight.

Sri Aurobindo, The Future Poetry: The Soul of Poetic Delight and Beauty

Beauty is Ananda taking form—but the form need not be a physical shape. One speaks of a beautiful thought, a beautiful act, a beautiful soul. What we speak of as beauty is Ananda in manifestation.

Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Poetry and Art: Art, Beauty and Ananda

Beauty is the special divine Manifestation in the physical as Truth is in the mind, Love in the heart, Power in the vital. Supramental beauty is the highest divine beauty manifesting in Matter.

Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Poetry and Art: Beauty

The one rule of the gnostic life would be the self-expression of the Spirit, the will of the Divine Being; that will, that self-expression could manifest through extreme simplicity or through extreme complexity and opulence or in their natural balance,—for beauty and plenitude, a hidden sweetness and laughter in things, a sunshine and gladness of life are also powers and expressions of the Spirit.

Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine - II: The Divine Life

Beauty is his footprint showing us where he has passed, Love is his heart-beats' rhythm in mortal breasts, Happiness the smile on his adorable face.

Sri Aurobindo, Savitri - I: The Kingdom of Subtle Matter

Colour

Yellow

Family

Amaryllidaceae

Cultivars

Numerous, including 'Tête-à-tête', 'Ice Follies', 'Dutch Master'

Person who named the flower

Carl Linnaeus

Flower Size

Varies from 2 to 5 inches

Flower Texture

Smooth

Number of Petals

6 tepals

Floral Symmetry

Radially symmetrical

Fragrance of Flower

Often fragrant

Leaf Texture

Smooth, sometimes slightly glossy

Leaf Arrangement

Basal

Leaf Color

Green

Structural Variation (Shrub or Tree)

Herbaceous

Life Cycle

Perennial

Blooming Period

Late winter to early spring

Climate

Temperate

Water Requirements

Moderate

Soil Type

Well-drained, fertile

Temperature Ranges

Cold hardiness varies

Sun or Shade

Full sun to partial shade

Susceptibility to Insects and Diseases

Bulb rot, narcissus fly, basal rot

Pollinators

Bees and other insects

Habitat

Meadows, woodlands, gardens

Role in the Ecosystem

Early nectar source for pollinators

Quotations

"Daffodils, That come before the swallow dares, and take The winds of March with beauty." - Shakespeare

Ornamental

Widely grown for ornamental purposes

Uses in Other Aspects of Life

Symbolic uses in celebrations and literature

Endangered Status

Not endangered