said by Narcissus Luttrell to be an attack on Sir Robert Walpole

Narcissus /n?:r's?s?s/ is a genus of mostly spring perennial crops 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 plants are usually white or yellowish (orange or green in garden types), with either even or contrasting coloured corona and tepals.

Narcissus were popular in historical civilisation, both and botanically medicinally, but formally referred to by Linnaeus in his Types Plantarum (1753). The genus is generally thought to have about ten areas with about 50 species. The true number of varieties has assorted, depending on how they are categorized, credited to similarity between types 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 precise origin of the name Narcissus is unknown, but it is associated with a Greek term for intoxicated (narcotic) and the myth of the young ones 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 kinds are indigenous to meadows and woods in southern European countries and North Africa with a center of variety in the American Mediterranean, the Iberian peninsula particularly. Both wild and cultivated 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 also insect-pollinated. Known pests, disorders and diseases include viruses, fungi, the larvae of flies, nematodes and mites. Some Narcissus species have become extinct, while some are threatened by increasing urbanisation and tourism.

Historical accounts suggest narcissi have been cultivated from the initial times, but became increasingly popular in Europe after the 16th century and by the later 19th hundred years were an important commercial crop centred mainly on holland. Narcissi are popular as slash blossoms so that ornamental vegetation in private and public gardens today. The long history of breeding has led to a large number of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are categorised 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 accidentally ingested. This property has been exploited for medicinal use within traditional healing and has resulted in the production of galantamine for the treating Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in art and books, narcissi are associated with a true number of themes in various cultures, ranging from death to good fortune, and as symbols of springtime. The daffodil is the national bloom of Wales and the sign of malignancy charities in many countries. The appearance of the crazy flowers in springtime is associated with celebrations in many places.

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

The vegetation are scapose, having an individual central leafless hollow flower stem (scape). Several green or blue-green, slim, strap-shaped leaves occur from the light bulb. The vegetable stem bears a solitary blossom, but sometimes a cluster of flowers (umbel). The bouquets, that happen to be usually conspicuous and white or yellow, sometimes both or seldom inexperienced, contain a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral tube above the ovary, then an exterior ring composed of six tepals (undifferentiated sepals and petals), and a central disc to conical shaped corona. The blossoms may hang down (pendent), or be erect. There are six pollen bearing stamens bordering a central style. The ovary is second-rate (below the floral parts) consisting of three chambers (trilocular). The fruit consists of a dry capsule that splits (dehisces) launching numerous black seeds.

The bulb sits dormant following the leaves and blossom stem die again and has contractile roots that take it down further in to the soil. The bloom stem and leaves form in the bulb, to emerge the following season. Most varieties are dormant from summer to overdue winter, flowering in the planting season, though a few types are autumn flowering.

Narcissus Pictures

Libraries established in 1973

Broadside with woodcut view of numerous stalls and people on the

Spring on Pinterest

paper whites in rocks and water in tall vase.