The daffodil was once a mainstay of the local economy on the Isles of Scilly. This archipelago, 28 miles (45 kilometers) off England's southwestern tip, has been part of the Duchy of Cornwall since its founding in 1337. The first flower bulbs are thought to have been introduced by monks some 300 years ago; the industry, however, dates from 1867, when William Trevellick of Rocky Hill Farm—who had been gathering wild daffodil bulbs for years—packed some flowers in a hatbox and sent them to Covent Garden in London for sale. He received one pound ($1.75) in return. Before long the flower business was booming: In 1894 a local newspaper reported that "on a single day ... 3,740 cases weighing 16 tons" were dispatched to the British mainland. A symbol of deep regard and chivalry in Victorian England, the daffodil is still grown on the islands, although the increasing cost of transportation and stiff competition have threatened the industry. Farmers are looking for ways to diversify, and a few have opened their cottages to holiday visitors. Today 85 percent of the economy is based on tourism.

Officially designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty—the islands are home to a variety of wildlife and provide nesting sanctuaries for birds‚ some at the extreme edge of their range. In 1985 a group now known as the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust was established to conserve the islands. In 1995 the duchy granted a 99-year lease to the trust, which manages the untenanted land on the five inhabited islands as well as all the uninhabited islets, of which there are more than a hundred. And what does the wildlife trust pay in rent to the duchy each year? A single daffodil.

—Kathy B. Maher