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

Narcissus were popular in ancient civilisation, both and botanically medicinally, but formally described by Linnaeus in his Types Plantarum (1753). The genus is normally considered to have about ten parts with about 50 species. The amount of species has mixed, depending how they are grouped, a consequence of to similarity between hybridization and types. The genus arose some right time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent regions of southwest Europe. The precise source of the true name Narcissus is undiscovered, but it is associated with a Greek term for intoxicated (narcotic) and the myth of the youth of this name who fell in love with his own reflection. The English phrase 'daffodil' appears to be derived from "asphodel", with which it was commonly compared.

The species are indigenous to meadows and woods in southern European countries and North Africa with a middle of variety in the American Mediterranean, particularly the Iberian peninsula. 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 others are threatened by increasing tourism and urbanisation.

Historical accounts suggest narcissi have been cultivated from the initial times, but became increasingly popular in Europe after the 16th hundred years and by the past due 19th century were an important commercial crop centred generally on the Netherlands. Today narcissi are popular as cut blooms so that ornamental plant life in private and general population gardens. The long history of breeding has resulted in thousands of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are categorized into divisions, covering a variety of colours and shapes. Like other members of their family, narcissi produce a 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 utilization in traditional healing and has resulted in the production of galantamine for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in art and books, narcissi are associated with a number of themes in various cultures, ranging from death to fortune, and as symbols of spring. The daffodil is the national blossom of Wales and the sign of tumors charities in many countries. The looks of the crazy flowers in springtime 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 lights with pronounced necks, and reach heights of 5-80 cm depending on the species. Dwarf types such as N. asturiensis have a maximum elevation of 5-8 cm, while Narcissus tazetta may grow as tall as 80 cm.

The vegetation are scapose, having a single central leafless hollow flower stem (scape). Several blue-green or green, thin, strap-shaped leaves happen from the light. The seed stem usually bears a solitary flower, but once in a while a cluster of blossoms (umbel). The bouquets, that happen to be conspicuous and white or yellowish usually, sometimes both or almost never green, consist of a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral tube above the ovary, then an external ring composed of six tepals (undifferentiated sepals and petals), and a central disc to conical formed corona. The plants may hang up down (pendent), or be erect. You will discover six pollen bearing stamens bordering a central style. The ovary is poor (below the floral parts) consisting of three chambers (trilocular). The berry consists of a dried capsule that splits (dehisces) liberating numerous black seed products.

The bulb sits dormant after the leaves and flower stem die back and has contractile origins that draw it down further into the soil. The flower leaves and stem form in the light bulb, to emerge the next season. Most species are dormant from summer time to later winter, flowering in the springtime, though a few varieties are autumn flowering.

Narcissus Pictures