Mary Delany, Sea Daffodil
This is not a painting but a paper collage by artist Mary Delany (14 May 1700 – 15 April 1788).
"With the plant specimen set before her she cut minute particles of coloured paper to represent the petals, stamens, calyx, leaves, veins, stalk and other parts of the plant, and, using lighter and darker paper to form the shading, she stuck them on a black background. By placing one piece of paper upon another she sometimes built up several layers and in a complete picture there might be hundreds of pieces to form one plant. It is thought she first dissected each plant so that she might examine it carefully for accurate portrayal..."
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Pancratium maritimum grows on beaches and coastal sand dunes, often with much of the leaves and scapes buried in the sand. Other vernacular names are ‘Sand Daffodil’, ‘Sand Lily’ and ‘Lily of St. Nicholas’ (although it is not a true lily). The specific epithet maritimum means "of the sea".
Pancratium maritimum is pollinated by a hawk-moth named Agrius convolvuli. These insects visit the flower only when the speed of the wind is under 2 metres per second (6.6 ft/s). Even if the species is pollinated in an artificial way during windy weather the pollination is not effective. Pancratium maritimum is not receptive to its own pollen and must be cross-pollinated.