Narcissus tazetta var. chinensis: Biogeography of a flower associated with lunar New Year celebrations in East Asia and the Far West of North America

A small, fragrant narcissus connects the cultures of the Mediterranean Basin, Western Asia, the Asian Far East the Far West of North America.  The ancestral stock of the "Chinese sacred lily" (Narcissus tazetta var. chinensis) arrived in China more than 1000 years ago via the Silk Routes and/or via Persian/Arab sea trade routes.  In China a horticultural tradition developed as the flowers became associated with lunar New Year celebrations.  Early Chinese emigrants and sojourners maintained this tradition in frontier communities of the Far West.  Relict populations of descendent plants still grow in scattered pockets within Far Western landscapes.