Daffodil trumpet explained, according to an article in ScienceDaily 9 March 2013, entitled “How the Daffodil Got Its Trumpet”. The most distinctive feature of the daffodil flower is its corona, commonly referred to as the “trumpet”. It has always been assumed that the corona is made from modified petals. Robert Scotland, Oxford University, UK and colleagues from Harvard University, the United States Department of Agriculture and University of Western Australia have studied gene activity of the different parts of the daffodil flowers as they develop and found the corona developed as a distinct structure, separate from petals, with gene activity more like that of the stamens.
All parts of the daffodil flower sit on a base called the hypanthium, and Robert Scotland explained: “We found that the corona develops from the hypanthium, and is not simply an extension of the petals or stamens. The corona is an independent organ, sharing more genetic identity with stamens, and which develops after the other organs are fully established”.
Editorial Comment: Actually, this study does not explain “how the daffodil got its trumpet”. To do that you would need to explain how a plant with no trumpet changed into one that has it, so you would need to show what turned on all the appropriate genes at the right time during the flower’s development to make the corona. Randomly turning them on is never observed to produce a useful structure.
The unique gene sequences and structure of the corona is real evidence that the genus Narcissus, which includes daffodils, narcissi and jonquils, was created as a separate kind with all it features fully formed. All attempts to breed daffodils with any other flower form have only resulted in flowers with a muddled structure that may be attractive to people, but are usually infertile, as seen in “double daffodils”. When “trumpeted” flowers are allowed to breed naturally they always breed after their kind, just as Genesis tells us. (Ref. botany, bulb flowers, Spring)
Evidence News 24 July 2013