Narcissus in Chains Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 10

Narcissus /n?:r's?s?s/ is a genus of mostly spring perennial plants in the Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis) family. Various common brands including daffodil,[notes 1] daffadowndilly,[3] narcissus, and jonquil are used to describe all or some members of the genus. Narcissus has conspicuous flowers with six petal-like tepals surmounted by the cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The flowers are usually white or yellowish (orange or pink in garden types), with either standard or contrasting colored tepals and corona.

Narcissus were popular in historic civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally explained by Linnaeus in his Types Plantarum (1753). The genus is generally thought to have about ten portions with roughly 50 species. The true number of kinds has varied, depending on how they are categorized, a consequence of to similarity between hybridization and species. The genus arose some right amount of time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent regions of southwest Europe. The exact origin of the name Narcissus is anonymous, but it is linked to a Greek word for intoxicated (narcotic) and the misconception of the children of this name who fell deeply in love with his own reflection. The English expression 'daffodil' is apparently produced from "asphodel", with which it was commonly compared.

The varieties are native to meadows and woods in southern European countries and North Africa with a middle of variety in the Traditional western Mediterranean, particularly the Iberian peninsula. Both cultivated and wild plants have naturalised widely, and were introduced in to the Far East before the tenth century. Narcissi tend to be long-lived bulbs, which propagate by division, but are insect-pollinated also. Known pests, disorders and diseases include viruses, fungi, the larvae of flies, nematodes and mites. Some Narcissus species have grown to be extinct, while others are threatened by increasing tourism and urbanisation.

Historical accounts suggest narcissi have been cultivated from the earliest times, but became increasingly popular in Europe after the 16th hundred years and by the late 19th hundred years were an important commercial crop centred primarily on the Netherlands. Today narcissi are popular as lower blooms so that ornamental plants in private and general public gardens. The long history of breeding has resulted in a large number of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are classified into divisions, covering a variety of colours and shapes. Like other members of the family, narcissi create a number of different alkaloids, which provide some protection for the plant, but may be poisonous if ingested inadvertently. This property has been exploited for medicinal use in traditional healing and has led to the production of galantamine for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in literature and art, narcissi are associated with a true number of themes in several cultures, ranging from death to good fortune, and as icons of spring. The daffodil is the national flower of Wales and the symbol of tumors charities in many countries. The looks of the outrageous flowers in planting season is associated with festivals in many places.

Narcissus is a genus of perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes, dying again after flowering to the underground storage bulb. They regrow in the following 12 months from brown-skinned ovoid bulbs with pronounced necks, and reach heights of 5-80 cm with regards to the species. Dwarf species such as N. asturiensis have a maximum height of 5-8 cm, while Narcissus tazetta might grow as high as 80 cm.

The plant life are scapose, having an individual central leafless hollow blossom stem (scape). Several blue-green or green, slim, strap-shaped leaves occur from the light. The herb stem usually bears a solitary rose, but sometimes a cluster of flowers (umbel). The bouquets, which can be usually conspicuous and white or yellow, sometimes both or seldom green, contain a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral tube above the ovary, then an outer ring made up of six tepals (undifferentiated sepals and petals), and a central disc to conical designed corona. The plants may hang down (pendent), or be erect. There are six pollen bearing stamens surrounding a central style. The ovary is poor (below the floral parts) consisting of three chambers (trilocular). The berries consists of a dry capsule that splits (dehisces) liberating numerous black seed products.

The bulb sits dormant following the leaves and blossom stem die back and has contractile origins that draw it down further into the soil. The blossom stem and leaves form in the bulb, to emerge the next season. Most species are dormant from summertime to past due winter, flowering in the spring, though a few species are fall flowering.

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