Hoop petticoat daffodil • Narcissus bulbocodium subsp. bulbocodium

Narcissus /n?:r's?s?s/ is a genus of predominantly 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 known members of the genus. Narcissus has conspicuous flowers with six petal-like tepals surmounted by way of a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The blooms are generally white or yellow (orange or green in garden types), with either even or contrasting colored tepals and corona.

Narcissus were well known in historical civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally described by Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum (1753). The genus is generally considered to have about ten portions with about 50 species. The amount of varieties has mixed, depending on how they are classified, due to similarity between hybridization and varieties. The genus arose some right amount of time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent areas of southwest Europe. The precise origins of the name Narcissus is undiscovered, but it is often linked to a Greek word for intoxicated (narcotic) and the misconception of the junior of that name who fell in love with his own representation. The English expression 'daffodil' appears to be derived from "asphodel", with which it was compared commonly.

The varieties are local to meadows and woods in southern European countries and North Africa with a centre of diversity in the European Mediterranean, particularly the Iberian peninsula. Both wild and cultivated plants have naturalised widely, and were introduced into 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, diseases and disorders include viruses, fungi, the larvae of flies, mites and nematodes. Some Narcissus species have become extinct, while others are threatened by increasing urbanisation and tourism.

Historical accounts suggest narcissi have been cultivated from the initial times, but became ever more popular in Europe following the 16th century and by the later 19th hundred years were an important commercial crop centred primarily on the Netherlands. Today narcissi are popular as lower flowers so that as ornamental vegetation in private and general population gardens. The long history of breeding has resulted in a large number of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are categorized into divisions, covering a wide range of shapes and colours. Like other members of their family, narcissi create 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 in traditional healing and has led to the production of galantamine for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in literature and artwork, narcissi are associated with a true number of themes in several cultures, ranging from loss of life to good fortune, and as icons of spring. The daffodil is the national flower of Wales and the icon of malignancy charities in many countries. The appearance of the outdoors flowers in spring 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. They regrow in the following calendar year from brown-skinned ovoid lights with pronounced necks, and reach heights of 5-80 cm depending on species. Dwarf species such as N. asturiensis have a maximum level of 5-8 cm, while Narcissus tazetta may expand as extra tall as 80 cm.

The plant life are scapose, having a single central leafless hollow flower stem (scape). Several blue-green or green, narrow, strap-shaped leaves arise from the light bulb. The vegetable stem usually bears a solitary flower, but occasionally a cluster of plants (umbel). The blooms, that are usually conspicuous and white or yellowish, both or almost never green sometimes, consist of 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 disk to conical shaped corona. The bouquets may hang down (pendent), or be erect. You can find six pollen bearing stamens encircling a central style. The ovary is poor (below the floral parts) comprising three chambers (trilocular). The super fruit includes a dried up capsule that splits (dehisces) releasing numerous black seed products.

The bulb lays dormant after the leaves and flower stem die back and has contractile root base that move it down further into the soil. The blossom stem and leaves form in the bulb, to emerge the following season. Most types are dormant from summer season to past due winter, flowering in the spring, though a few species are fall months flowering.

Narcissus Pictures