Matthaeus Merian. Narcissus varieties, from Viridarium reformatum

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 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 flowers are usually white or yellowish (orange or green in garden varieties), with either standard or contrasting colored tepals and corona.

Narcissus were well known in ancient civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally identified by Linnaeus in his Types Plantarum (1753). The genus is normally considered to have about ten portions with approximately 50 species. The true variety of types has varied, depending on how they are categorized, as a consequence to similarity between hybridization and varieties. 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 associated with a Greek word for intoxicated (narcotic) and the myth of the young ones of that name who fell in love with his own reflection. The English term 'daffodil' appears to be derived from "asphodel", with which it was commonly likened.

The kinds are native to meadows and woods in southern European countries and North Africa with a middle of variety in the Western Mediterranean, the Iberian peninsula particularly. Both wild and cultivated plants have naturalised widely, and were unveiled into the Far East to the tenth hundred years prior. 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 earliest times, but became ever more popular in Europe following the 16th hundred years and by the past due 19th hundred years were an important commercial crop centred mainly on holland. Today narcissi are popular as chop plants as ornamental vegetation in private and public gardens. The long history of breeding has resulted in thousands 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 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 use in traditional healing and has led to the production of galantamine for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in books and artwork, narcissi are associated with a true number of themes in different cultures, ranging from fatality to fortune, and as symbols of spring. The daffodil is the national flower of Wales and the sign of tumor charities in many countries. The looks of the wild flowers in spring is associated with celebrations in many places.

Narcissus is a genus of perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes, dying again after flowering with an underground storage bulb. They regrow in the next season from brown-skinned ovoid light bulbs with pronounced necks, and reach levels of 5-80 cm with regards to the species. Dwarf varieties such as N. asturiensis have a maximum level of 5-8 cm, while Narcissus tazetta may increase as extra tall as 80 cm.

The plants are scapose, having an individual central leafless hollow bloom stem (scape). Several green or blue-green, thin, strap-shaped leaves arise from the bulb. The place stem bears a solitary blossom, but sometimes a cluster of plants (umbel). The bouquets, that are conspicuous and white or yellow usually, both or almost never 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 molded corona. The plants may hang down (pendent), or be erect. You will discover six pollen bearing stamens adjoining a central style. The ovary is poor (below the floral parts) comprising three chambers (trilocular). The berry contains a dry out capsule that splits (dehisces) liberating numerous black seed products.

The bulb is placed dormant following the leaves and blossom stem die back again and has contractile origins that take it down further into the soil. The flower stem and leaves form in the light, to emerge the following season. Most types are dormant from summer time to late winter, flowering in the planting season, though a few varieties are fall flowering.

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