File:XN Narcissus pseudonarcissus.jpg Wikimedia Commons

Narcissus /n?:r's?s?s/ is a genus of predominantly spring perennial crops 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 known members of the genus. Narcissus has conspicuous flowers with six petal-like tepals surmounted by a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The bouquets are generally white or yellowish (orange or red in garden varieties), with either even or contrasting coloured corona and tepals.

Narcissus were well known in traditional civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally identified by Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum (1753). The genus is generally considered to have about ten sections with approximately 50 species. The amount of species has mixed, depending on how they are categorised, due to similarity between hybridization and types. The genus arose some time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent regions of southwest Europe. The precise origin of the true name Narcissus is unfamiliar, but it is often linked to a Greek phrase for intoxicated (narcotic) and the myth of the youth of this name who fell deeply in love with his own representation. The English expression 'daffodil' appears to be derived from "asphodel", with which it was compared commonly.

The kinds are local to meadows and woods in southern Europe and North Africa with a centre of variety in the European 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 tend 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, nematodes and mites. Some Narcissus species have become extinct, while others are threatened by increasing tourism and urbanisation.

Historical accounts suggest narcissi have been cultivated from the earliest times, but became ever more popular in Europe following the 16th hundred years and by the past due 19th century were an important commercial crop centred mainly on holland. Narcissi are popular as slash bouquets so that ornamental crops in private and open public gardens today. The long history of breeding has resulted in thousands of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are classified into divisions, covering a wide range of shapes and colours. Like other members with their family, narcissi produce 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 utilization in traditional healing and has resulted in the production of galantamine for the treating Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in artwork and literature, narcissi are associated with a true number of themes in different cultures, ranging from fatality to good fortune, and as icons of spring and coil. The daffodil is the countrywide flower of Wales and the mark of malignancy charities in many countries. The appearance of the outrageous flowers in planting season is associated with celebrations in many places.

Narcissus is a genus of perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes, dying back after flowering to a underground storage light bulb. They regrow in the following 12 months from brown-skinned ovoid lights with pronounced necks, and reach levels of 5-80 cm with respect to the species. Dwarf species such as N. asturiensis have a maximum elevation of 5-8 cm, while Narcissus tazetta may increase as tall as 80 cm.

The plant life are scapose, having an individual central leafless hollow rose stem (scape). Several blue-green or green, small, strap-shaped leaves happen from the bulb. The seed stem bears a solitary flower, but once in a while a cluster of bouquets (umbel). The blossoms, that happen to be conspicuous and white or yellowish usually, sometimes both or rarely green, contain a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral pipe above the ovary, then an external ring composed of six tepals (undifferentiated sepals and petals), and a central disk to conical formed corona. The plants may hang up down (pendent), or be erect. You can find six pollen bearing stamens adjoining a central style. The ovary is inferior (below the floral parts) comprising three chambers (trilocular). The berry contains a dried out capsule that splits (dehisces) releasing numerous black seeds.

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

Narcissus Pictures

Narcissus pseudonarcissus L. daffodil

Narcissus pseudonarcissus Wild Daffodil Amaryllidaceae Images

Narcissus Pseudonarcissus

Narcissus pseudonarcissus , Photo: Michael Lahanas