Daffodil

The asphodel was the “death flower” of the ancient Greeks as they believed that the dead lived in a meadow of asphodels (Asphodel Lemon). They had it as a symbol of mourning and as Homer mentions in the “Odyssey” they sowed the daffodil on the graves, because they thought that the souls fed on their tubers (as they are rich in starch). The souls of the heroes who had fallen in Troy also met in an asphodelon (Homer, Od. 11.539-24.3). The poets compared the souls that roamed the banks of the Acheron to the dead and standing stems of the asphodel.
A typical genus of the Mediterranean and Mediterranean countries that is also found in other regions of Central Europe up to the Caucasus and the Indies. It belongs to the Leiliidae family and is found in many Greek areas , especially after devastating fires since sheep and goats do not graze it due to the sharp crystals contained in its leaves. In Corfu they call it asperdoukla .
There are species with white flowers (A. microcarpus, A. fistulosus etc.) and the related species with yellow flowers (Asphodelina lutea).
Its name is of pre-Hellenic or prehistoric origin and comes from the steric α and vertebra due to the shape of its tuberous roots. The father of Botany Theophrastus attributes nutritional properties to its starch-rich tuberous roots, while Plutarch downgrades it to a lowly foodstuff.
In Greek Mythology it is associated with Persephone because of the dead, but it is also considered an emblem of Dionysus.
Homer in the Odyssey mentions that the souls of the dead of the Trojan War, passing through the waters of the sacred spring of Styx, ended up in the asphodel meadow, that is, in a meadow of asphodels.
Asphodel roots were considered valuable food by prehistoric foragers and also in mythology as food for the dead. For this reason, the daffodil was a symbol of mourning and was planted near graves and cemeteries. But also in modern times in cases of famine and food shortages (blockade of Greece in 1917, in the German occupation of the Second World War as well as by the poor peoples of Africa) it was used as a valuable food since its roots, once ground, produce a a type of flour from which porridge is prepared but of little nutritional value.
It is also a great beekeeping plant because during its flowering period (March to April) it provides rich food for the bees looking for raw material for the production of honey.
Daffodil contains pigments, starch and glycosides mainly in its tubers. Various potables useful in the treatment of asthmatic bronchitis are prepared from them as well as poultices or ointments for the rapid healing of wounds or even for snow flukes. More generally, it is known for its many actions (expectorant, enzymatic, cardiotonic, diuretic, emmenagogue, spasmolytic and emetic). Dioscorides considered it a panacea and recommended its use to combat alopecia as well as Hippocrates for the treatment of pleurisy, diseases of the spleen and swellings, hence it is included in the list of plants that make up the botanical collection of the garden of Hippocrates in Kos
The tubers also produce various useful substances such as the glue that the old cobblers used to glue the soles of their shoes. The dry stems are also used as kindling in village ovens.
It is still used to predict the seasons, the weather, but also a good harvest, etc., depending on the way it blooms, the growth of the shoots, etc.
But apart from mythology, in more modern traditions the daffodil was the omen for the coming year: when the long stem (foot) of the daffodil is crooked, it is said that the year will be bad, on the contrary if it is straight the year will be good. The stem (foot) itself, because it is soft, children (in former times) used it to make windmills, which they hung up in the summer. At times it had been used as an adhesive, for the preparation of alcohol and as an ointment suitable for wounds
Farmers from long ago made predictions with asperdukla in Spring. If it has abundant flowering, it portends a “good year” for wine.