Rare British daffodils may be hiding in plain sight in parks and gardens, and experts are eager to locate them.

A “wanted list” has been created to track down long-lost varieties, including those tied to specific places. One such variety is the “bonfire yellow” daffodil, linked to Sussex’s famous Bonfire Night celebrations.

Gwen Hines of Plant Heritage, a plant conservation charity, warns that these rare daffodils could disappear forever if not identified and preserved.

Daffodils, believed to have been introduced to Britain by the Romans, also provide galantamine, a compound used in Alzheimer’s treatment.

With over 30,000 different shapes, sizes, and colours, daffodils have been bred for centuries. While yellow is the most common, some varieties display white, orange, or even salmon-pink hues.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is urging the public to help find rare and missing daffodils that may have been lost to history. Among them is the Sussex Bonfire, named after the well-known Lewes Bonfire Night. This variety, bred by local horticulturist Noel Burr, features a striking orange-yellow bloom but has not been seen in at least two decades.

Roger Parsons, a Sussex horticulturist, hopes the Sussex Bonfire still thrives in an overlooked garden.

“Perhaps someone planted it in their garden and it still exists but our challenge is to find that person,” he said.

“Finding this and other daffodils thought to be lost helps maintain those genes for future plant breeding.”

Another daffodil, bred by plantswoman Sarah Backhouse, was named in her memory by her husband after her death in 1921. This variety was one of the first to display a pinkish hue, with an ivory-white outer petal encircling a salmon-pink trumpet. While it is known to exist in national collections, its precise location remains uncertain.

Daffodils were highly fashionable during the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, bred into a variety of forms. One renowned breeder of this period, William Fowler Copeland (1872–1953), developed a white, double-flowered daffodil named after his wife.

The RHS is also asking the public to record sightings of daffodils this spring. RHS scientist Dr. Kálmán Könyves, who has spent 15 years researching these plants, emphasises that mapping their locations will help scientists understand how daffodils are responding to climate change.

“With this we can get some data on whether the flowering time changes as our climate changes,” he said.