ONE of the most uplifting sights at springtime is the huge number of daffodils that flourish in gardens and parks, but also in the wild.

In general terms, wild daffodils are smaller than cultivated varieties and tend to flourish in large numbers, especially in damp woodlands and shady grassed areas. They appear in Wales, Scotland and England, and in this region are particularly numerous and attractive in Farndale on the North York Moors. There they have become a springtime tourist attraction.

However, they do flourish in other parts of the moors and elsewhere. I’ve come across them in the grounds of ruined abbeys and in several minor dales such as the surrounds of Glaisdale Beck where it flows through West Arncliffe Wood at Glaisdale.

Those fields lay behind my grandparents’ farm where, as a small child, I would explore that natural wilderness, which in springtime was rich with bluebells, daffodils and a wonderful variety of other plants, birds and wild animals.

Growing up among such splendour meant that I became inquisitive about the presence of so many daffodils, especially near Glaisdale Beck, but also in other regions of the moors, including Farndale.

My juvenile queries during my search for an explanation suggested they had been introduced to the moorland valleys by the monks of Rievaulx Abbey when they owned much of the landscape for their sheep-breeding enterprise.

Another suggestion was that they had grown naturally in daffodil-friendly areas, but that also raises the question of when and how the first daffodils appeared in such places.

Of the daffodil-growing areas, Farndale is surely unique. Its name provides a clue to its lush, but ancient natural state. The Gaelic name of Fearna probably provides the origin of its name. In the 13th century it was called Farndal (sic) which derived from fearn dael meaning “fern valley”. This name alone indicated a damp and perhaps shaded valley, the latter due to the woodlands which in turn provided ideal conditions for wild daffodils, whatever their origins.

In addition to the ferns, however, Farndale was also known for its bluebells, snowdrops, primroses and other wild plants. But today, it is the dale of millions of wild daffodils. Several varieties grow along both banks of the River Dove and extend for six or seven miles up the dale.

This produces some lovely walks, but unscrupulous visitors would pick the flowers for sale as bunches in markets and even dig up the bulbs, not realising they would rarely flourish in domestic gardens – they do need a particular atmosphere and the unique conditions of Farndale if they are to flourish. To prevent the threat of extinction, North Riding County Council in 1953 declared the 2,000 acres of Farndale to be a local nature reserve, and the picking of the flowers or uprooting the bulbs is now illegal.

In pondering whether or not they were first introduced to the moors by the monks of Rievaulx, it is interesting that the daffodil does have ancient links with religion and symbolism. Even in Greek mythology, the flower featured as asphodelus, a plant that grew in the meadows of the Underworld. This had various spellings including asphodilus, affodilus and affodyl; it is from those words that the present name of daffodil has emerged.

The genus to which this plant belongs is narcissus which includes the wild Lent Lily and the religious link is shown in this name because Narcissus was a senior figure in Rome at the time of Christ, and to whom St Paul once sent his greetings. (Rom, xvi.11).

It seems that this Narcissus was also a favourite of the Emperor Claudius. A better-known and quite different Narcissus was the 19-year-old Greek youth who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water, and so continues in our language as someone who is excessively interested in his appearance.

The symbolism associated with daffodils is quite wide-ranging. They can mean faith, honesty, truth, forgiveness and even forthrightness. In some areas, seeing the first daffodil of spring heralds good fortune.

However, when presenting daffodils, a single bloom signifies or even brings misfortune, consequently when given as gifts, daffodils should always be in bunches because they then signify good fortune.

In considering their symbolism for faith, honesty, truth and forgiveness, it is not surprising they were the favourite flower of the martyr of the North York moors, Nicholas Postgate. He planted them around his lonely moorland refuge between Ugthorpe and Egton where, despite their location, they flourished.

In his mind, their symbolism was unmistakeable but when he was executed at York in 1679 for the crime of baptising a baby into the Catholic faith, pilgrims later visited his former home and dug up all the bulbs. None now remain – but there are millions in Farndale and other moorland valleys.