Wild daffodil
Wild daffodil is uncommon and scattered throughout England and Wales.
In Hampshire it is scattered in the New Forest, the countryside surrounding Southampton and the north-east of the county. Populations in the New Forest are scattered, but some are quite large.
It prefers ancient woods that have rich fertile soil and where the soil is damp, eg close to streams or wet flushes. It will also grow in ancient grasslands next to the woods.
Wild daffodil flowers in March and early April. Some of the best populations are in Pinnick Wood, north-east of Ringwood, but it can be tricky to find in wet flushes and boggy parts of the wood. There is much wild daffodil along the lane-sides joining Poulner to the New Forest and this may well be the easiest place to find it.
The beauty of wild daffodils inspired Wordsworth’s famous poem ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’, and in some parts of the UK special trips were often made to see them in spring.