Volume 6 of 6: Narcissus Luttrell: 9781240148189: Amazon.com: Books

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 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 plants are usually white or yellowish (orange or pink in garden varieties), with either even or contrasting colored corona and tepals.

Narcissus were well known in early civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally referred to by Linnaeus in his Varieties Plantarum (1753). The genus is generally thought to have about ten portions with roughly 50 species. The amount of types has assorted, depending how they are labeled, credited to similarity between species and hybridization. The genus arose some right time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent areas of southwest Europe. The precise origin of the name Narcissus is mysterious, but it is associated with a Greek expression for intoxicated (narcotic) and the misconception of the young ones 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 local to meadows and woods in southern Europe and North Africa with a center of diversity in the Western Mediterranean, particularly the Iberian peninsula. Both wild and cultivated plants have naturalised widely, and were introduced in to the Far East before the tenth century. Narcissi tend 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 others 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 past due 19th hundred years were an important commercial crop centred generally on the Netherlands. Narcissi are popular as trim blossoms so that ornamental plant life 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 an array 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 inadvertently. This property has been exploited for medicinal used in traditional healing and has led to the production of galantamine for the treating Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in literature and art, narcissi are associated with a number of themes in several cultures, ranging from death to fortune, and as icons of planting season. The daffodil is the countrywide rose of Wales and the sign of cancer charities in many countries. The looks of the wild flowers in spring is associated with festivals in many places.

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

The vegetation are scapose, having a single central leafless hollow flower stem (scape). Several green or blue-green, small, strap-shaped leaves happen from the bulb. The plant stem bears a solitary bloom, but sometimes a cluster of bouquets (umbel). The plants, which can be usually conspicuous and white or yellow, both or hardly ever inexperienced sometimes, consist of a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral tube above the ovary, then an exterior ring made up of six tepals (undifferentiated sepals and petals), and a central disc to conical formed corona. The flowers may hang up down (pendent), or be erect. A couple of six pollen bearing stamens encircling a central style. The ovary is second-rate (below the floral parts) consisting of three chambers (trilocular). The berries involves a dry capsule that splits (dehisces) releasing numerous black seeds.

The bulb sits dormant following the leaves and flower stem die back again and has contractile root base that take it down further in to the soil. The flower leaves and stem form in the light bulb, to emerge the following season. Most types are dormant from warmer summer months to late winter, flowering in the springtime, though a few varieties are autumn flowering.

Narcissus Pictures

Purchases from the Robert S. Pirie Collection, Part 2: the printed

Even then the surrounding area consisted mostly of farms and market

with Anne, Duchess of Cumberland, and Lady Elizabeth Luttrell

narcissus~ Olivia39;s birth month flower. December