Cultivar Names

Tazettas (Italian for "little cups") are a "section" within the genus Narcissus. Sold as "polyanthus narcissus" for decades if not centuries,  there has been a recurrent effort to have them reclassified into their own genus (once proposed as Hermione).

The lack of period photographs makes conclusive identification of these heirloom tazettas anywhere from annoyingly difficult to basically impossible.  

Names in single quotes are officially registered with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). In the 1990s, John C. Van Beck, co-founder of the Florida Daffodil Society, registered three heirloom tazettas in his collection - naming one for his wife, one for his daughter and one for his newly-born first grandchild. 

Names in double quotes are "place holder" names, based on appearance, garden origin or the original gardener. 

Observation and poring over an extensive collection of period catalog descriptions has yielded tentative identifications for a number of cultivars. A few are sufficiently distinctive flowers to match well a detailed description from a highly reputable catalog (particularly 'Queen of the Yellows'). Work will continue in the 2021-2022 season to identify these flowers.

Another goal of the 2021-2022 season is registering some of these flowers with the RHS. Flowers that resist all attempts of identification and that have distinctive attributes will be registered (eventually). A number of flowers fall into the descriptive category of "nothing to write home about." They might make for winter garden "filler" but that's not  enough to consider "bringing them to market" and so don't warrant registration.