St David\u2019s Day has long been associated with daffodils and they have become a symbol of Wales, not least because they bloom around the 1st of March each year. The humble \u2018daff\u2019 has always been special to us here in Wales and now its importance is about to reach new heights. <\/strong><\/p>\n Daffodil in Welsh is \u2018Cenhinen Bedr\u2019 which literally translates into English as \u2018Peter\u2019s Leek. Wild daffodils can be found all over Europe from Wales to Germany and down to Portugal. The sub-species known as the Tenby Daffodil is usually regarded as the \u2018true\u2019 St David\u2019s Day daffodil. It grows in the wild across South Wales and is notable because the flower is completely yellow.<\/p>\n Although daffodils have bloomed in Wales for thousands of years, it seems they became a popular symbol from 1911. In that year David Lloyd George, of Welsh descent and the only ever British Prime Minister whose first language was Welsh, advocated their use at the investiture ceremony when Edward VIII was made Prince of Wales. Before this, the leek was a much more common emblem worn by Welsh people. The origin of this likely dates back to the Battle of Cr\u00e9cy in 1346 when Welsh archers defeated French soldiers in a field of leeks. Back home, leeks were worn to honour their bravery which became an annual tradition on St David\u2019s Day. Leeks were a popular food for many centuries and were used for medicinal purposes, but their association with St David’s Day is thought to be linked to the Tudors who had strong Welsh roots. Tudor royal household accounts list several payments for leeks in connection with St David’s Day and Henry VIII is said to have presented his daughter with a leek for the festival.<\/p>\n Today many of us prefer to celebrate our national day by wearing a daffodil as we have been encouraged to do so since we took part in the annual St David\u2019s Day Eisteddfod at school or perhaps when supporting the Welsh rugby team. The Glamorgan cricket team are just one of the Welsh teams to have adopted the daffodil on their badges and crests. The Cardiff City crest sported a daffodil and Welsh dragon before owner Vincent Tan revised it, much to the annoyance of many Bluebirds fans. Not to worry though. The daffodil is a resilient species. Cut daffodils placed in a vase with other flowers will kill the others due to natural poisons, while daffodils in the wild will outlive you if they are left undisturbed. Perhaps this is a sign that the old City badge will return when the Malaysian businessman leaves town.<\/p>\n Nowadays daffodils are developing a much wider significance than being the national flower and symbol of Wales. Daffodils for example, produce \u2018galantimine\u2019 which is used in the treatment of Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n Current research suggests that the daffodil could also make a major contribution in dealing with global warming. Scientists from Scotland’s Rural College are reporting that daffodils could provide the key to more sustainable livestock farming. Currently cows are responsible for 14% of greenhouse gases globally and as much as 50% of methane emissions in the UK. Adding an extract called haemanthamine obtained from daffodils to livestock feed, has been shown to reduce methane in artificial cow stomachs by 30%. Andrew Evans, of Welshpool, Powys is one farmer enthusiastically testing the new method. “It’s the national flower of Wales isn’t it, so we’re quite keen on that,” he said. “There are governments across the world currently trying to meet net-zero by either taxing livestock farmers or putting quotas on the number of livestock you can have because of this methane by-product. This research gives us a very real opportunity to change that story.”<\/p>\n So get your daffodils ready for March 1st and in future keep your eyes open. A Welsh legend has it that if you spot the first daffodil of the season, your coming year will be filled with wealth!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n DAFFODILS AT THE READY AND NOT JUST FOR ST DAVID\u2019S DAY St David\u2019s Day has long been associated with daffodils and they have become a symbol of Wales, not least because they bloom around the 1st of March each year. The humble \u2018daff\u2019 has always been special to us here in Wales and now its importance is about to reach […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[228],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-3Eg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14057,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14057","url_meta":{"origin":14028,"position":0},"title":"Saint David – the Patron Saint of Wales","author":"Alan Williams","date":"14th March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Dewi Sant - Nawddsant Cymru Saint David - the Patron Saint of Wales \u00a0 Dewi was the Bishop of Mynyw in South West Wales - what today is called St David\u2019s - in the 6th Century. The date of his birth is not clear but it is generally accepted that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Readers Articles of Interest"","block_context":{"text":"Readers Articles of Interest","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=228"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4241,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=4241","url_meta":{"origin":14028,"position":1},"title":"ST DAVID – WALES AND BEYOND","author":"Alan Williams","date":"27th February 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"ST DAVID - WALES AND BEYOND St David was born in Pembrokeshire around 500 AD to Sant, a prince of Cardigan, and St Non, the daughter of a chieftain. Little is known about his life. He was brought up near Aberaeron and is said to have been baptised by St\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe History Group"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe History Group","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=40"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5546,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=5546","url_meta":{"origin":14028,"position":2},"title":"What Else Happened On St David’s Day?","author":"Alan Williams","date":"3rd March 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"WHAT ELSE HAPPENED ON ST DAVID'S DAY? March1st is arguably the most widely known and important day in Welsh history and culture. Across the country we mark the death of St David, patron saint of Wales, who died on 1st March in 589 AD. Most celebrations take traditional forms, such\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/goons.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5731,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=5731","url_meta":{"origin":14028,"position":3},"title":"We Are Surrounded By Poisons","author":"Alan Williams","date":"2nd April 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 You may not realise it, but we are surrounded by poisons in the shape mainly of plants and trees. Our rural ancestors knew what to eat and what to avoid but as we become increasingly divorced from an understanding of the countryside, we are losing that knowledge. The recent\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Deadly-Nightshade-berry-1-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6530,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=6530","url_meta":{"origin":14028,"position":4},"title":"Llanthony","author":"Alan Williams","date":"28th August 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Llanthony We parked at Llanthony Priory, in the care of Cadw and freely open to the public. The hamlet of Llanthony nestles in the heart of the beautiful Vale of Ewyas. This is the easternmost valley of the Black mountains, described by Gerald of Wales in 1188 as \u2018encircled on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Picture7.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11418,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=11418","url_meta":{"origin":14028,"position":5},"title":"Bargoed","author":"Alan Williams","date":"16th April 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Bargoed This walk took us to Bargoed Woodland Park, which was created on land formerly occupied by Bargoed, Britannia and Gilfach collieries. The country park has been created from barren waste ground left after the closure of the last mine in 1985. 90,000 new trees, 6500 bulbs and 8000 wildflowers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Picture8.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14028"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14028"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14039,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14028\/revisions\/14039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nDAFFODILS AT THE READY AND NOT JUST FOR ST DAVID\u2019S DAY<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"