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Narcissus /n?:r's?s?s/ is a genus of mostly spring perennial crops in the Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis) family. Various common titles 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 usually white or yellow (orange or green in garden types), with either standard or contrasting coloured tepals and corona.

Narcissus were well known in old civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally detailed by Linnaeus in his Varieties Plantarum (1753). The genus is normally considered to have about ten sections with about 50 species. The number of species has mixed, depending how they are labeled, thanks to similarity between hybridization and kinds. The genus arose some time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent areas of southwest Europe. The precise origins of the name Narcissus is undiscovered, but it is associated with a Greek word for intoxicated (narcotic) and the misconception of the youth of this name who fell deeply in love with his own representation. The English phrase 'daffodil' is apparently derived from "asphodel", with which it was likened commonly.

The varieties are local 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 cultivated and wild plants have naturalised widely, and were created into the Far East to the tenth hundred years prior. 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, mites and nematodes. Some Narcissus species have become extinct, while some are threatened by increasing tourism and urbanisation.

Historical accounts suggest narcissi have been cultivated from the initial times, but became ever more popular in Europe following the 16th century and by the late 19th century were an important commercial crop centred mostly on holland. Narcissi are popular as trim blossoms and as ornamental vegetation in private and general public gardens today. The long history of breeding has resulted in a large number 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 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 use within traditional healing and has led to the production of galantamine for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in literature and art, narcissi are associated with a true number of themes in various cultures, ranging from death to good fortune, and as icons of planting season. The daffodil is the national rose of Wales and the image of tumor charities in many countries. The looks of the wild flowers in springtime is associated with celebrations in many places.

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

The plant life are scapose, having a single central leafless hollow rose stem (scape). Several blue-green or green, slim, strap-shaped leaves occur from the light bulb. The flower stem bears a solitary rose, but occasionally a cluster of flowers (umbel). The plants, that happen to be usually conspicuous and white or yellow, sometimes both or rarely green, consist of a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral tube above the ovary, then an external ring made up of six tepals (undifferentiated sepals and petals), and a central disk to conical formed corona. The blossoms may hang down (pendent), or be erect. There are six pollen bearing stamens surrounding a central style. The ovary is substandard (below the floral parts) comprising three chambers (trilocular). The fruit contains a dry capsule that splits (dehisces) releasing numerous black seed products.

The bulb lies dormant after the leaves and bloom stem die back and has contractile origins that yank it down further into the soil. The blossom leaves and stem form in the bulb, to emerge the following season. Most species are dormant from summer months to later winter, flowering in the springtime, though a few varieties are fall flowering.

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