is for Jonquil Flower Blog

Narcissus /n?:r's?s?s/ is a genus of predominantly spring perennial vegetation 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 a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The blossoms are usually white or yellow (orange or red in garden kinds), with either standard or contrasting colored corona and tepals.

Narcissus were popular in historical civilisation, both and botanically medicinally, but formally described by Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum (1753). The genus is normally considered to have about ten sections with about 50 species. The number of kinds has assorted, depending about how they are categorized, due to similarity between varieties and hybridization. The genus arose a while in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent regions of southwest Europe. The exact source of the true name Narcissus is anonymous, but it is often associated with a Greek phrase for intoxicated (narcotic) and the misconception of the youngsters of this name who fell in love with his own reflection. The English expression 'daffodil' is apparently produced from "asphodel", with which it was commonly compared.

The types are indigenous to meadows and woods in southern European countries and North Africa with a centre of variety in the European Mediterranean, the Iberian peninsula particularly. Both cultivated and wild plants have naturalised widely, and were introduced in to the Far East prior to the tenth century. Narcissi have a tendency 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, mites and nematodes. Some Narcissus species have become extinct, while some are threatened by increasing tourism and urbanisation.

Historical accounts suggest narcissi have been cultivated from the earliest times, but became increasingly popular in Europe following the 16th hundred years and by the later 19th hundred years were an important commercial crop centred mostly on the Netherlands. Today narcissi are popular as slice plants so that as ornamental plant life in private and open 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 wide range of shapes and colours. Like other members of the family, narcissi produce a true number of different alkaloids, which provide some protection for the plant, but may be poisonous if ingested unintentionally. This property has been exploited for medicinal use within traditional healing and has resulted in the production of galantamine for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in literature and fine art, narcissi are associated with a true number of themes in different cultures, ranging from loss of life to fortune, and as symbols of spring and coil. The daffodil is the countrywide blossom of Wales and the sign of malignancy charities in many countries. The looks of the wild flowers in spring and coil is associated with festivals in many places.

Narcissus is a genus of perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes, dying back after flowering for an underground storage bulb. They regrow in the following year from brown-skinned ovoid bulbs with pronounced necks, and reach levels of 5-80 cm depending on the species. Dwarf species such as N. asturiensis have a maximum elevation of 5-8 cm, while Narcissus tazetta might develop as tall as 80 cm.

The vegetation are scapose, having a single central leafless hollow blossom stem (scape). Several green or blue-green, narrow, strap-shaped leaves arise from the light bulb. The flower stem bears a solitary rose, but occasionally a cluster of flowers (umbel). The blooms, that are conspicuous and white or yellow usually, sometimes both or almost never renewable, contain a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral pipe above the ovary, then an external ring made up of six tepals (undifferentiated sepals and petals), and a central disk to conical designed corona. The bouquets may hang down (pendent), or be erect. A couple of six pollen bearing stamens surrounding a central style. The ovary is poor (below the floral parts) consisting of three chambers (trilocular). The fruit includes a dry capsule that splits (dehisces) launching numerous black seed products.

The bulb is placed dormant following the leaves and flower stem die back again and has contractile roots that yank it down further in to the soil. The rose leaves and stem form in the bulb, to emerge the next season. Most varieties are dormant from summer season to later winter, flowering in the planting season, though a few kinds are fall flowering.

Narcissus Pictures

Narcissus Images FemaleCelebrity

File:Narcissus R02.jpg Wikimedia Commons

Narcissus pumilus1bA classic daffodils with small flowers

Narcissus in love with his image, 1728. Painting by François Lemoyne