Description Narcissus tazetta Baleares.jpg

Narcissus /n?:r's?s?s/ is a genus of mainly spring perennial vegetation 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 way of a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The bouquets are usually white or yellowish (orange or pink in garden types), with either even or contrasting colored corona and tepals.

Narcissus were popular in old civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally defined by Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum (1753). The genus is generally considered to have about ten sections with roughly 50 species. The amount of types has varied, depending about how they are categorized, as a consequence to similarity between hybridization and varieties. The genus arose a while in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent areas of southwest Europe. The precise source of the true name Narcissus is anonymous, but it is often associated with a Greek term for intoxicated (narcotic) and the myth of the young ones of this name who fell in love with his own reflection. The English term 'daffodil' is apparently derived from "asphodel", with which it was likened commonly.

The kinds are local to meadows and woods in southern Europe and North Africa with a middle of diversity in the Traditional 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 insect-pollinated also. Known pests, diseases and disorders include viruses, fungi, the larvae of flies, mites and nematodes. Some Narcissus species have grown to be extinct, while some 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 mainly on the Netherlands. Today narcissi are popular as slice flowers and since ornamental vegetation in private and general population gardens. The long history of breeding has led to a large number of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are labeled into divisions, covering an array of shapes and colours. Like other members with their family, narcissi produce a 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 led to the production of galantamine for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in books and artwork, narcissi are associated with a number of themes in different cultures, ranging from death to fortune, and as icons of planting season. The daffodil is the nationwide blossom of Wales and the sign of cancer charities in many countries. The looks of the wild flowers in spring and coil is associated with festivals in many places.

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

The crops are scapose, having a single central leafless hollow bloom stem (scape). Several green or blue-green, narrow, strap-shaped leaves occur from the bulb. The place stem bears a solitary bloom, but occasionally a cluster of blooms (umbel). The blossoms, which can be usually conspicuous and white or yellowish, both or rarely inexperienced sometimes, consist of a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral pipe above the ovary, then an exterior ring composed of six tepals (undifferentiated sepals and petals), and a central disk to conical shaped corona. The blossoms may hang up down (pendent), or be erect. You will find six pollen bearing stamens bordering a central style. The ovary is inferior (below the floral parts) consisting of three chambers (trilocular). The fruits contains a dry out capsule that splits (dehisces) releasing numerous black seeds.

The bulb lays dormant following the leaves and rose stem die back again and has contractile roots that pull it down further into the soil. The flower stem and leaves form in the light bulb, to emerge the next season. Most types are dormant from summer season to later winter, flowering in the planting season, though a few species are autumn flowering.

Narcissus Pictures

Narcissus Tazetta Narcissus tazetta

Narcissus tazetta Cheerfulness

AMARYLLIDACEAE 石蒜科 Narcissus Narcissus tazetta var. chinensis

Narcissus tazetta, Mary Sue Ittner