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Narcissus /n?:r's?s?s/ is a genus of mainly spring perennial plants in the Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis) family. Various common brands including daffodil,[notes 1] daffadowndilly,[3] narcissus, and jonquil are being 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 flowers are generally white or yellowish (orange or pink in garden types), with either standard or contrasting coloured tepals and corona.

Narcissus were popular in traditional civilisation, both and botanically medicinally, but formally detailed by Linnaeus in his Kinds Plantarum (1753). The genus is normally considered to have about ten areas with roughly 50 species. The amount of kinds has assorted, depending on how they are categorised, scheduled to similarity between types and hybridization. The genus arose time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent regions of southwest Europe. The precise origins of the name Narcissus is unfamiliar, but it is associated with a Greek phrase for intoxicated (narcotic) and the misconception of the young ones of that name who fell in love with his own representation. The English phrase 'daffodil' is apparently produced from "asphodel", with which it was commonly compared.

The types are indigenous to meadows and woods in southern Europe and North Africa with a centre of variety in the European Mediterranean, particularly the Iberian peninsula. Both cultivated and wild plants have naturalised widely, and were presented in to the Far East to the tenth hundred years prior. 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 grown to be extinct, while some are threatened by increasing urbanisation and tourism.

Historical accounts suggest narcissi have been cultivated from the earliest times, but became ever more popular in Europe after the 16th hundred years and by the later 19th hundred years were an important commercial crop centred mainly on holland. Narcissi are popular as trim plants as ornamental crops in private and general population gardens today. The long history of breeding has led to thousands of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are grouped into divisions, covering a wide range of shapes and colours. Like other members of their family, narcissi produce a true 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 utilization in traditional healing and has led to the production of galantamine for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in books and art work, narcissi are associated with a true number of themes in various cultures, ranging from death to fortune, and as symbols of springtime. The daffodil is the national flower of Wales and the sign of malignancy charities in many countries. The appearance of the outdoors flowers in spring and coil is associated with celebrations in many places.

Narcissus is a genus of perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes, dying back after flowering with an underground storage bulb. They regrow in the next 12 months from brown-skinned ovoid bulbs with pronounced necks, and reach heights of 5-80 cm depending on the species. Dwarf varieties such as N. asturiensis have a maximum level of 5-8 cm, while Narcissus tazetta might expand as tall as 80 cm.

The plants are scapose, having an individual central leafless hollow bloom stem (scape). Several green or blue-green, narrow, strap-shaped leaves occur from the light. The place stem usually bears a solitary bloom, but occasionally a cluster of flowers (umbel). The bouquets, that happen to be conspicuous and white or yellowish usually, sometimes both or hardly ever inexperienced, 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 shaped corona. The flowers may hang down (pendent), or be erect. There are six pollen bearing stamens bordering a central style. The ovary is inferior (below the floral parts) comprising three chambers (trilocular). The super fruit contains a dried capsule that splits (dehisces) launching numerous black seed products.

The bulb is placed dormant following the leaves and blossom stem die again and has contractile root base that draw it down further in to the soil. The blossom stem and leaves form in the bulb, to emerge the following season. Most kinds are dormant from warmer summer months to later winter, flowering in the planting season, though a few types are autumn flowering.

Narcissus Pictures

File:Narcissus romieuxii 39;Julia Jane39;2.jpg Wikimedia Commons

Bulbucodium hybrid Narcissus 39;Julia Jane39; quot;quot;quot;Tulips,

Narcissus romieuxii ssp. romieuxiiPale sulphur yellow. Photo by

Massonia