March birth flowers: daffodil and jonquil
March’s birth flower is the daffodil, often paired with the jonquil, which is one kind of daffodil. In the flower dictionaries the daffodil meant regard, self-love or uncertainty, and the jonquil a wish for returned affection.
Meaning
The Old Farmer’s Almanac gives the daffodil and says it is also called the jonquil, “simply a type of daffodil”; University of Illinois Extension, West Virginia University Extension and Penn State Extension’s Master Gardeners give the daffodil alone. Both are Narcissus. Penn State’s Master Gardeners explain that daffodil is the common name the American Daffodil Society accepts, Narcissus the botanical name of the genus, and jonquil one particular kind. NC State Extension describes the jonquil, Narcissus jonquilla, as having clusters of fragrant deep yellow flowers and narrow leaves, from which its name comes: Spanish jonquillo, “little rush”. The paperwhite of December is a narcissus too. Penn State Extension’s Master Gardeners say the meanings rest “on folklore and tradition passed on through generations” and vary with the source and the time.
Origin and history
The genus is named after Narcissus of Greek myth. Frederic Shoberl’s Language of Flowers (1840) gives the story as the ancients told it: a beautiful youth who slighted the nymph Echo fell in love with his own image in a fountain and pined to death, and was changed into the flower. Shoberl and Dumont give narcissus and daffodil together the meaning “self-love”. In the saints’-day Calendar of Flowers that Henrietta Dumont printed in 1851, March is the daffodils’ month: the early daffodil on 7 March, the hoop-petticoat on 9 March, the nodding daffodil on 16 March and the peerless daffodil on 23 March, with the great jonquil on 8 March and the sweet jonquil on 27 March.
Regard, self-love or uncertainty
The books do not agree on the daffodil. Kate Greenaway (1884) gives it regard. Shoberl and Dumont give self-love. Sarah Josepha Hale’s Flora’s Interpreter (1856 edition) gives uncertainty, with the verse line “Uncertain as our date.” On the jonquil they come closer: Greenaway and Hale both give “I desire a return of affection”, and Dumont’s dictionary shortens it to desire. University of Illinois Extension today gives the daffodil “regard, unequaled love, new beginnings” and the jonquil “desire, love me”.
The daffodil in Wales and China
Penn State’s Master Gardeners note that the daffodil is the national flower of Wales, and that in China, where it blooms around the Chinese New Year, it stands for good luck and prosperity.
Where you’ll see it today
whatdoesthissymbolmean.comMarch birthstones: aquamarine and bloodstoneThe same month's birthstoneSee also
December birth flowers: narcissus and holly, January birth flowers: carnation and snowdrop, February birth flowers: violet and primrose, April birth flowers: daisy and sweet pea, May birth flowers: lily of the valley and hawthorn, June birth flowers: rose and honeysuckle.
Sources
- Monthly Birth Flowers, Master Gardeners of Luzerne County, Penn State Extension
- Birth Flowers by Month: Discover Your Monthly Flower & Meaning, Catherine Boeckmann, updated 17 September 2026, The Old Farmer’s Almanac
- Floriography: The meaning of flowers, Bruce J. Black and Rhonda Ferree, updated November 2022, University of Illinois Extension
- WL 173 Floriography: The Language of Flowers, Natasha Harris and Jesica Streets, 2022, West Virginia University Extension
- March: Daffodil (Narcissus spp.), Joan Banyas, Master Gardeners of Luzerne County, Penn State Extension
- Language of Flowers, illustrated by Kate Greenaway, 1884, George Routledge and Sons (Project Gutenberg edition)
- The Language of Flowers: The Floral Offering, by Henrietta Dumont, 1851, H. C. Peck & Theo. Bliss, Philadelphia (Project Gutenberg edition)
- The Language of Flowers, with Illustrative Poetry, by Frederic Shoberl, seventh edition, 1840, Saunders & Otley, London (Internet Archive, Cornell University Library copy)
- Flora’s Interpreter, and Fortuna Flora, by Sarah Josepha Hale, 1856 edition, Sanborn, Carter and Bazin, Boston (Internet Archive)
- Narcissus jonquilla (Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox), NC State Extension
- Narcissus tazetta (Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox), NC State Extension
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Last reviewed September 29, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research