Amaryllidaceae, the amaryllis family.
Description:
Plant:
Familiar spring garden flower. Large, solitary, yellow flowers with central
trumpet, and dark green, linear leaves,
growing in dense clumps from underground bulbs. Generally about 12" high.
Perennial.
Flowers:
Bright yellow, about 2" across, with six apparent petals, and prominent central "trumpet"
or corona.
The petals are actually the combined and similar petals and sepals, sometimes
referred to as "tepals".
Solitary, on long stem that places the flower above the level of the leaves.
Leaves:
Basal, linear, semi-succulent, to about 12".
Fruit:
A large capsule with triangular cross-section.
Blooming:
April-May
Habitat:
Fields, abandoned homesteads, old roadside plantings.
Comments:
The familiar garden daffodil often escapes cultivation and establishes itself in parks
and near sites of former human habitation.
There are hundred of cultivars, many with hybrid ancestry. The one shown here probably
has N. pseudonarcissus in its background.
Propagation is generally by asexual division of the bulbs, but sometimes viable seed
is produced.
The bulbs, and to some extent, the leaves are quite toxic, and should not be eaten
despite their succulent appearance.
Where to find it:
There are clearly planted daffodils near the lodge and other buildings, but there is also a
naturalized clump at the far east end of the pond, on the south shore.
This apparently grew from some fill dirt dumped there, as there are a few other garden plants
adjacent.