A TINY daffodil growing in the Black Mountains on the Herefordshire border is being hailed as a potential boon in the battle against Alzheimer's disease.

Its secret lies in the bulb. This certain species of daffodil thrives in the area of the Black Mountains because much of the soil is poor and the conditions are harsh.

As it struggles to grow, the bulb develops more of a substance known as galanthamine to help it survive, sending the healing quality up into its flowers. And it is galanthamine, considered a leading drug in the alleviation of memory loss symptoms and the repair of nerve damage, that could do the same for humans.

It is claimed galanthamine could halt the progress of existing Alzheimer's and prevent it happening in the first place if taken regularly.

Scientists and agronomists are already working to find ways of making the daffodil flower several times a year.

Cardiff University's manufacturing engineering centre is helping a company, Alzeim, with the University of Wales, develop the potential of the daffodil as a medicinal plant.

It is providing support, from harvesting the daffodils in the field to marketing the pharmaceutical product, including ways of multiple flowering and helping growers assess when best to gather the crop.

The daffodil can be found across the range from Talgarth to Brecon, to Hay-on-Wye and to Abergavenny and it could become the medicinal plant of the future.

The centre's managing director Frank Marsh said galanthamine had major investment potential. "The potential for Welsh hill farms is huge. The benefits are extensive, not only for Welsh bioscience and the pharmaceutical industry - but also for the ageing population."

Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, affecting one person in 20 over the age of 65 and one in five over the age of 80.

Asked how long before it became available for common use, Mr Marsh said: "Sooner, rather than later."