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WildBristol.uk - Discovering Wildlife in Bristol

92.) AMARYLLIDACEAE - Daffodil family

AMARYLLIDACEAE - Daffodil family

ALLIUM L.

  • Allium schoenoprasum L. (Chives) / General

  • Allium unifolium Kellogg (American Garlic) General

  • Allium roseum L. (Rosy Garlic) / General

  • Allium neapolitanum Cirillo (Neapolitan Garlic) General

  • Allium subhirsutum L. (Hairy Garlic) / General

  • Allium trifoliatum Cirillo (Hirsute Garlic / Pink Garlic) - 1 BSBI record [for some reason Stace has the authority as Cyr. - check.] General

  • Allium moly L. (ssp. moly) (Yellow Garlic, Lily Leek - Kew, Golden Garlic - Wikipedia) 1957 / General

  • Allium triquetrum L. (Three-cornered Garlic) / General

  • Allium paradoxum (M. Bieb.) G. Don (Few-flowered Garlic) - General

  • Allium ursinum L. (Ramsons) / Woodland Wild Garlic - When visited in spring, a garlic filled wood brings an overwhelming pungence that is beloved by some and hated by others but in those dog hot spots, particularly around Bristol, the nauseating concoction that is created is enough to sting the airways of anyone with a functioning nose!

  • Allium oleraceum L. (Field Garlic) / Grassland

  • var. oleraceum Grassland

  • var. complanatum Fr. Grassland Very Rare Found at Horfield Parish Churchyard in 2021 by D. Peters.

  • Allium carinatum L. (Keeled Garlic) / Grassland A troublesome species in the Avon Gorge area and its bulbils have been spread around by the hay cut. The culprit behind its introduction was.

  • Allium sativum L. (Garlic) - probably mistakes for Wild Garlic General

  • Allium ampeloprasum L. (Wild Leek) - General

  • var. ampeloprasum General With only flowers.

  • var. babingtonii (Borrer) Syme (Wild Leek) General Very Rare With flowers and bulbils. Found on a roadside bank on Berwick Lane, Compton Greenfield in 2025 during a BNS meeting.

  • Allium porrum L. (Leek) - 1 record according to NBN - probably a mistake for Wild Leek General Widely grown on allotments and self-seeds freely if allowed to. Found at Golden Hill Allotments in 2019? by D. Peters.

  • Allium sphaerocephalon L. (Round-headed Leek, Bristol Onion) / General Very Rare

  • Allium vineale L. (both var. vineale and var. compactum (Thuill.) Boreau) (Wild Onion, Crow Garlic) / Grassland Common

  • Allium nigrum L. (Broad-leaved Leek) / General

  • Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Spreng. (Chinese Chives) - 1 record according to NBN

  • Allium cristophii (Star of Persia) - 1 record according to NBN General

  • Allium siculum Ucria (Stace) (ssp. siculum and ssp. dioscoridis (Sm.) K. Richt.? - Stace) Nectaroscordum siculum (Ucria) Lindl. (NBN) (Honey Garlic) /- General

NOTHOSCORDUM Kunth

  • Nothoscordum borbonicum Kunth (N. entrerianum × N. gracile = N. x borbonicum) (Honeybells) - 1 BSBI record General

AGAPANTHUS L'Hér.

  • Agapanthus praecox Willd. ssp. orientalis (F.M. Leight.) F.M. Leight. (African Lily) General Very Rare Widely grown in gardens and very rarely self-seeds.

TRISTAGMA Poepp.

  • Tristagma uniflorum (Lindl.) Traub (Spring Starflower) / General Widely grown in gardens.

NERINE Herb.

  • Nerine bowdenii W. Watson (ssp. bowdenii) (Bowden Lily) - 1 BSBI record. Another NBN record of just Nerine "7 flower spikes in bramble scrub on waste ground. I assumed they would perhaps be N sarniense but they look like pictures on internet of another species" General

CRINUM L.

  • Crinum bulbispermum x C. moorei = C. x powellii Baker (Powell's Cape-lily) - 1 BSBI record General

LEUCOJUM L.

  • Leucojum aestivum L. (Summer Snowflake) General

  • ssp. aestivum General

  • ssp. pulchellum (Salisb.) Briq. / General

  • Leucojum vernum L. (var. vernum) (Spring Snowflake) 1982 General

GALANTHUS L.

  • Galanthus nivalis L. (Snowdrop) / General

  • Galanthus nivalis x G. plicatus = G. x valentinei Beck. (Snowdrop x Pleated Snowdrop) General

  • Galanthus plicatus M. Bieb. (Pleated Snowdrop) General

  • ssp. plicatus general

  • ssp. byzantinus (Baker) D.A. Webb. General

  • Galanthus elwesii Hook. f. (Greater Snowdrop) / General

  • Galanthus woronowii Losinsk. (G. ikariae auct. non Baker) (Green Snowdrop, Green-leaved Snowdrop) / General

NARCISSUS L.

  • Narcissus agg. (Garden Daffodils) / General Very Common Very commonly planted en masse around public green spaces and frequently found in wilder situations such as on roadsides, woodland and hedgebanks as a result of Guerrilla gardening.

  • Narcissus tazetta L. (ssp. tazetta) (Bunch-flowered Daffodil) - [Investigate sspp.] General

  • Narcissus tazetta x N. poeticus = N. x medioluteus Mill. (Primrose-peerless) General

  • Narcissus tazetta x N. cyclamineus = N. x cyclazetta Chater & Stace (Head-to-head Daffodil) General Probably the most frequently grown daffodil now and the most often guerrilla gardened. Frequently found on random places.

  • Narcissus poeticus L. (ssp. poeticus) (Pheasant's-eye Daffodil) General

  • Narcissus poeticus x N. pseudonarcissus = N. x incomparabilis Mill. (Nonesuch Daffodil) General

  • Narcissus poeticus x N. moschatus = N. x boutignyanus Philippe (Boutigny's Daffodil) General

  • Narcissus jonquilla x N. pseudonarcissus = N. x *odorus* L. (Campernelle Jonquil) General Very Rare The cultivar 'Sweetness' was found at Horfield Common, Bristol in 2025 by D. Peters.

  • Narcissus pseudonarcissus L. (Stace) ssp. pseudonarcissus (NBN) (Daffodil, Wild Daffodil, Lent Lily) /- Woodland

  • Narcissus pseudonarcissus x N. cyclamineus = N. x monochromus P.D. Sell (Reflexed Daffodil) General

  • Narcissus obvallaris Salisb. (Tenby Daffodil) - [on DB as N. pseudonarcissus L. ssp. obvallaris (Salisb.) A. Fern.] General

  • Narcissus hispanicus Gouan (ssp. hispanicus) (Spanish Daffodil) - [on DB as N. pseudonarcissus L. ssp. major (Curtis) Baker] General

  • Narcissus nobilis (Haw.) Schult. f. (Large-flowered Daffodil) General Very Rare Was found in Horfield Parish Churchyard, Bristol in 2022 by D. Peters. It is probably overlooked.

  • Narcissus bicolor L. (Two-coloured Daffodil) - 1 BSBI record General

  • Narcissus minor L. (Lesser Daffodil) - 1 record according to NBN General

List:

  • Allium schoenoprasum L. (Chives) / General
  • Allium unifolium Kellogg (American Garlic) General
  • Allium roseum L. (Rosy Garlic) / General
  • Allium neapolitanum Cirillo (Neapolitan Garlic) General
  • Allium subhirsutum L. (Hairy Garlic) / General
  • Allium trifoliatum Cirillo (Hirsute Garlic / Pink Garlic) - 1 BSBI record [for some reason Stace has the authority as Cyr. - check.] General
  • Allium moly L. (ssp. moly - Kew) (Yellow Garlic, Lily Leek - Kew, Golden Garlic - Wikipedia) 1957 / General
  • Allium triquetrum L. (Three-cornered Garlic) / General
  • Allium paradoxum (M. Bieb.) G. Don (Few-flowered Garlic) - General
  • Allium ursinum L. (Ramsons) / Woodland
  • Allium oleraceum L. (var. oleraceum - Stace) (Field Garlic) / Grassland
  • Allium oleraceum L. var. complanatum Fr. (Field Garlic) Grassland
  • Allium carinatum L. (Keeled Garlic) / Grassland
  • Allium sativum L. (Garlic) - probably mistakes for Wild Garlic General
  • Allium ampeloprasum L. var. ampeloprasum (Wild Leek) - General
  • Allium ampeloprasum var. babingtonii (Borrer) Syme (Wild Leek) General
  • Allium porrum L. (Leek) - 1 record according to NBN - probably a mistake for Wild Leek General
  • Allium sphaerocephalon L. (Round-headed Leek, Bristol Onion) / General
  • Allium vineale L. (both var. vineale and var. compactum (Thuill.) Boreau) (Wild Onion, Crow Garlic) / Grassland
  • Allium nigrum L. (Broad-leaved Leek) / General
  • Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Spreng. (Chinese Chives) - 1 record according to NBN
  • Allium cristophii (Star of Persia) - 1 record according to NBN General
  • Allium siculum Ucria (Stace) (ssp. siculum and ssp. dioscoridis (Sm.) K. Richt.? - Stace) Nectaroscordum siculum (Ucria) Lindl. (NBN) (Honey Garlic) /- General
  • Nothoscordum borbonicum Kunth (N. entrerianum × N. gracile = N. x borbonicum - Kew, GBIF) (Honeybells) - 1 BSBI record General
  • Agapanthus praecox Willd. ssp. orientalis (F.M. Leight.) F.M. Leight. (African Lily) General
  • Tristagma uniflorum (Lindl.) Traub (Spring Starflower) / General
  • Nerine bowdenii W. Watson (ssp. bowdenii - Kew, GBIF) (Bowden Lily) - 1 BSBI record. Another NBN record of just Nerine "7 flower spikes in bramble scrub on waste ground. I assumed they would perhaps be N sarniense but they look like pictures on internet of another species" General
  • Crinum bulbispermum x C. moorei = C. x powellii Baker (Powell's Cape-lily) - 1 BSBI record General
  • Leucojum aestivum L. ssp. aestivum (Summer Snowflake) General
  • Leucojum aestivum L. ssp. pulchellum (Salisb.) Briq. (Summer Snowflake) / General
  • Leucojum vernum L. (var. vernum - Kew) (Spring Snowflake) 1982 General
  • Galanthus nivalis L. (Snowdrop) / General
  • Galanthus nivalis x G. plicatus = G. x valentinei Beck. (Snowdrop x Pleated Snowdrop) General
  • Galanthus plicatus M. Bieb. ssp. plicatus (Pleated Snowdrop - Stace, NBN) General
  • Galanthus plicatus M. Bieb. ssp. byzantinus (Baker) D.A. Webb. (Pleated Snowdrop - Stace, NBN) General
  • Galanthus elwesii Hook. f. (Greater Snowdrop) / General
  • Galanthus woronowii Losinsk. (Stace) Galanthus ikariae auct. non Baker (old name) (Green Snowdrop - NBN, Green-leaved Snowdrop - Stace) / General
  • Narcissus agg. (Garden Daffodils) / General
  • Narcissus tazetta L. (ssp. tazetta - Kew, GBIF) (Bunch-flowered Daffodil) - [Investigate sspp.] General
  • Narcissus tazetta x N. poeticus = N. x medioluteus Mill. (Primrose-peerless) General
  • Narcissus tazetta x N. cyclamineus = N. x cyclazetta Chater & Stace (Head-to-head Daffodil) General
  • Narcissus poeticus L. (ssp. poeticus - Kew, GBIF) (Pheasant's-eye Daffodil) General
  • Narcissus poeticus x N. pseudonarcissus = N. x incomparabilis Mill. (Nonesuch Daffodil) General
  • Narcissus poeticus x N. moschatus = N. x boutignyanus Philippe (Boutigny's Daffodil) General
  • Narcissus jonquilla x N. pseudonarcissus = N. x odorus (Campernelle Jonquil) General
  • Narcissus pseudonarcissus L. (Stace) ssp. pseudonarcissus (NBN) (Daffodil, Wild Daffodil, Lent Lily) /- Woodland
  • Narcissus pseudonarcissus x N. cyclamineus = N. x monochromus P.D. Sell (Reflexed Daffodil) General
  • Narcissus obvallaris Salisb. (Tenby Daffodil) - [on DB as Narcissus pseudonarcissus L. ssp. obvallaris (Salisb.) A. Fern.] General
  • Narcissus hispanicus Gouan (ssp. hispanicus - Kew, GBIF) (Spanish Daffodil) - [on DB as Narcissus pseudonarcissus L. ssp. major (Curtis) Baker] General
  • Narcissus nobilis (Haw.) Schult. f. (Large-flowered Daffodil) General
  • Narcissus bicolor L. (Two-coloured Daffodil) - 1 BSBI record General
  • Narcissus minor L. (Lesser Daffodil) - 1 record according to NBN General

Species to add:

  • Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Spreng. (Chinese Chives) - 1 record according to NBN /
  • Allium trifoliatum Cirillo (Hirsute Garlic / Pink Garlic) - 1 BSBI record [for some reason Stace has the authority as Cyr. - check.] /
  • Allium neapolitanum Cirillo (Neapolitan Garlic) /
  • Allium sativum L. (Garlic) - probably mistakes for Wild Garlic /
  • Allium ampeloprasum var. babingtonii (Borrer) Syme (Wild Leek) /
  • Allium porrum L. (Leek) - 1 record according to NBN - probably a mistake for Wild Leek /
  • Allium cristophii (Star of Persia) - 1 record according to NBN /
  • Nothoscordum borbonicum Kunth (N. entrerianum × N. gracile = N. x borbonicum - Kew, GBIF) (Honeybells) - 1 BSBI record /
  • Agapanthus praecox Willd. ssp. orientalis (F.M. Leight.) F.M. Leight. (African Lily) /
  • Crinum bulbispermum x C. moorei = C. x powellii Baker (Powell's Cape-lily) - 1 BSBI record /
  • Nerine bowdenii W. Watson (ssp. bowdenii - Kew, GBIF) (Bowden Lily) - 1 BSBI record. Another NBN record of just Nerine "7 flower spikes in bramble scrub on waste ground. I assumed they would perhaps be N sarniense but they look like pictures on internet of another species" /
  • Leucojum aestivum L. ssp. aestivum (Summer Snowflake) /
  • Narcissus tazetta L. (ssp. tazetta - Kew, GBIF) (Bunch-flowered Daffodil) - [Investigate sspp.] /
  • Narcissus tazetta x N. poeticus = N. x medioluteus Mill. (Primrose-peerless) /
  • Narcissus tazetta x N. cyclamineus = N. x cyclazetta Chater & Stace (Head-to-head Daffodil) /
  • Narcissus poeticus L. (ssp. poeticus - Kew, GBIF) (Pheasant's-eye Daffodil) /
  • Narcissus poeticus x N. pseudonarcissus = N. x incomparabilis Mill. (Nonesuch Daffodil) /
  • Narcissus poeticus x N. moschatus = N. x boutignyanus Philippe (Boutigny's Daffodil) /
  • Narcissus obvallaris Salisb. (Tenby Daffodil) - [on DB as Narcissus pseudonarcissus L. ssp. obvallaris (Salisb.) A. Fern.] /
  • Narcissus hispanicus Gouan (ssp. hispanicus - Kew, GBIF) (Spanish Daffodil) - [on DB as Narcissus pseudonarcissus L. ssp. major (Curtis) Baker] /
  • Narcissus bicolor L. (Two-coloured Daffodil) - 1 BSBI record /
  • Narcissus minor L. (Lesser Daffodil) - 1 record according to NBN /

Also 2 records of Galanthus caucasicus but these are apparently variants of G. elwesii without inner tepal basal green patches.

Species added by me:

  • Allium unifolium Kellogg (American Garlic) /
  • Allium oleraceum L. var. complanatum Fr. (Field Garlic) /
  • Narcissus jonquilla x N. pseudonarcissus = N. x odorus (Campernelle Jonquil) /
  • Narcissus pseudonarcissus x N. cyclamineus = N. x monochromus P.D. Sell (Reflexed Daffodil) /
  • Narcissus nobilis (Haw.) Schult. f. (Large-flowered Daffodil) General

Could occur:

  • Allium cepa L. (Onion)

  • usually with a few pale flowers at the apex - not to be confused with Field Garlic - Allium oleraceum which has much longer scapes far exceeding the inflorescence.

On this day 178 years ago, locally famous botanist Henry Oxley Stephens was to make one of the most extraordinary discoveries of the 19th Century... Allium sphaerocephalon - the Round-headed Leek or what became locally known as the Bristol Onion; was discovered for the first time on the British mainland.

To this day, the Avon Gorge is its only native outpost. The species is widespread in Europe and 5 subspecies are recognised - ours being the nominate ssp. sphaerocephalon, though having been isolated for many thousands of years ours is undoubtedly unique. It exists in two populations on the Bristol side of the Gorge, one below St. Vincent's Rocks and the other in the Gully.

Now flowering over a month earlier than they used to, the flowers are pollinated by various insects: I have observed Red-Tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) and Common Yellow-faced Bee (Hylaeus communis) on wild plants and of those in my garden (from shop bought bulbs): Honey Bee (Apis mellifera), Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus). Whilst on holiday in Cromer I encountered a garden with Bristol Onions absolutely covered in this last species and also Stripe-backed Fleckwing (Dasysyrphus albostriatus).

The seeds are dispersed by ants (mainly Dusk Ant - Formica fusca) but also via strong gusts of wind and gravity. Increasingly though bulbil-bearing forms occur (mini onions growing directly on the inflorescence) - possibly as a result of climate change.

I remember Libby Houston recalling to me the time that a joy rider crashed into the top of the Gully in the 1980s. The driver miraculously got away unscathed but the car set alight and burned a huge area. The following year due to the fires clearance of competing vegetation, the Bristol Onion came up as strong as leeks! The population fluctuates massively from year to year but it's obvious that its population has been on the general decline.

The St. Vincent's Rocks population is in better condition but is at threat of rock-fall, climate change and above all, invasive species such as Cotoneaster. The latter though is subject to countless additional threats: heavy trampling in the area, not only squashing the plants themselves (the amount of times I see oblivious people sitting on them!) but resulting in excessive bare ground - the loose dust-like soil at risk of being eroded away by wind and rain and causing the shallowly rooted bulbs to become exposed at the tip. I have observed the local Magpies and Jackdaws pulling up the bulbs, thinking they're food (in the same way that gardeners are often in conflict with birds for pulling up onion and shallot sets). The exposed bulbs then at risk of being washed down the slope where they have little chance of finding a spot to re-root.

Unfortunately I also frequently encounter plants lying on the surface which have evidently been pulled up by mishievous children. The goats (the very things supposedly in place to conserve the rare plants) are causing problems too. The Cashmere goats are good and doing their job just fine as they only eat woody material but the naughty Bagot goats (introduced as a slapdash decision a few years ago before a new set of Cashmere were added) have been anything but - they eat everything! Including the Bristol Onions. Despite me raising the issue with the Downs ranger, rather than just getting rid of the Baggots they decided to halve the herd and keep half of each breed... thus the problem continues. More recently a worrying increase in the popularity of the plant in gardens and public displays (often sold by bulb suppliers as 'Drumsticks') is perhaps serving the greatest threat of all. The Avon Gorge's population is unique. Should some ignorant person plant it in a nearby garden, then its isolation of thousands of years will be broken the instant an insect goes from one flower to the next.

Wild Garlic - When visited in spring, a garlic filled wood brings an overwhelming pungence that is beloved by some and hated by others but in those dog hot spots, particularly around Bristol, the nauseating concoction that is created is enough to sting the airways of anyone with a functioning nose!

Wild Garlic - the smell of Wild Garlic on mass produces an overwhelming pungence that is beloved by some and hated by others but when mixed with the toxic fumes of dog hot spots (particularly around Bristol), creates a nauseating concoction that is enough to sting to airways of anyone with a functioning nose!

Wild Garlic - the smell of Wild Garlic on mass produces an overwhelming pungence that is beloved by some and hated by others but when mixed with the toxic fumes of dog hot spots which are sadly now common place (particularly around Bristol), creates one of the most nauseating concoctions known to man!