Narcissus x medioluteus Mill. = Narcissus biflorus Curtis

Narcissus /n?:r's?s?s/ is a genus of mainly spring perennial plant life in the Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis) family. Various common names 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 with a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The plants are generally white or yellow (orange or red in garden kinds), with either even or contrasting coloured tepals and corona.

Narcissus were well known in ancient civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally detailed by Linnaeus in his Types Plantarum (1753). The genus is normally considered to have about ten areas with around 50 species. The true amount of varieties has varied, depending how they are labeled, credited to similarity between species and hybridization. The genus arose a while in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent areas of southwest Europe. The exact origin of the name Narcissus is anonymous, but it is often linked to a Greek term for intoxicated (narcotic) and the misconception of the youngsters of that name who fell deeply in love with his own representation. The English expression 'daffodil' is apparently derived from "asphodel", with which it was commonly compared.

The varieties are indigenous to meadows and woods in southern Europe and North Africa with a middle of variety in the American Mediterranean, the Iberian peninsula particularly. Both cultivated and wild plants have naturalised widely, and were created in to the Far East to the tenth century prior. Narcissi tend to be long-lived bulbs, which propagate by division, but are insect-pollinated also. Known pests, disorders and diseases include viruses, fungi, the larvae of flies, mites and nematodes. Some Narcissus species have grown to be 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 late 19th hundred years were an important commercial crop centred mostly on holland. Today narcissi are popular as lower bouquets and as ornamental crops in private and open public gardens. The long history of breeding has resulted in thousands of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are categorized into divisions, covering an array of colours and shapes. 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 accidentally. 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 fine art and literature, narcissi are associated with a number of themes in different cultures, ranging from fatality to good fortune, and as icons of planting season. The daffodil is the national bloom of Wales and the symbol of cancer charities in many countries. The looks of the untamed flowers in springtime is associated with celebrations 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 year from brown-skinned ovoid bulbs with pronounced necks, and reach heights of 5-80 cm with respect to the species. Dwarf types such as N. asturiensis have a maximum level of 5-8 cm, while Narcissus tazetta may expand as extra tall as 80 cm.

The plants are scapose, having an individual central leafless hollow bloom stem (scape). Several blue-green or green, thin, strap-shaped leaves arise from the bulb. The flower stem usually bears a solitary rose, but once in a while a cluster of flowers (umbel). The blossoms, which can be conspicuous and white or yellow usually, both or almost never renewable sometimes, contain a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral tube above the ovary, then an outside ring composed of six tepals (undifferentiated sepals and petals), and a central disc to conical shaped corona. The bouquets may hang down (pendent), or be erect. There are six pollen bearing stamens surrounding a central style. The ovary is poor (below the floral parts) comprising three chambers (trilocular). The super fruit contains a dried out capsule that splits (dehisces) launching numerous black seeds.

The bulb is situated dormant following the leaves and bloom stem die back and has contractile root base that yank it down further in to the soil. The bloom leaves and stem form in the light, to emerge the following season. Most species are dormant from summer time to later winter, flowering in the planting season, though a few types are autumn flowering.

Narcissus Pictures