The leek and the daffodil.
According to legend, St David advised Welsh soldiers to wear leeks on their helmets to identify themselves during a successful battle against the Saxons in a field full of leeks.
There is a 16th Century reference to the emblem of Wales being the leek in Mary Tudor's account book and Shakespeare refers to Fluellenas being a good countryman of Wales by wearing a leek.
The Myddfai Physicians of Carmarthenshire used leeks as a cure for a variety of illnesses and over the years it has seen a variety of uses: a treatment for battle wounds, a means of keeping away evil spirits and if placed under a pillow by young maidens, as a means of foretelling their future husbands as well as assisting in easing the pains of childbirth.
Welsh soldiers wear a leek in their caps on Saint David's Day and there is a tradition for the youngest recruit of the Welsh Guards to eat a large raw leek.
The leek is often substituted for the daffodil, probably as a result of the similarity of their names in Welsh. The Welsh for leek is Cenhinen, while the Welsh for daffodil is Cenhinen Bedr. Hence the daffodil has become adopted as the second emblem of Wales.
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