Greek God Narcissus

Narcissus /n?:r's?s?s/ is a genus of mostly spring perennial crops in the Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis) family. Various common labels including daffodil,[notes 1] daffadowndilly,[3] narcissus, and jonquil are used to describe all or some members of the genus. Narcissus has conspicuous flowers with six petal-like tepals surmounted with a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The blossoms are generally white or yellowish (orange or pink in garden kinds), with either even or contrasting coloured tepals and corona.

Narcissus were popular in old civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally described by Linnaeus in his Varieties Plantarum (1753). The genus is generally thought to have about ten areas with roughly 50 species. The number of kinds has assorted, depending about how they are labeled, anticipated to similarity between varieties and hybridization. The genus arose some right amount of time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent areas of southwest Europe. The exact source of the real name Narcissus is unknown, but it is linked to a Greek term for intoxicated (narcotic) and the misconception of the junior of that name who fell deeply in love with his own representation. The English word 'daffodil' appears to be produced from "asphodel", with which it was likened commonly.

The kinds are native to meadows and woods in southern Europe and North Africa with a centre of diversity in the European Mediterranean, particularly the Iberian peninsula. Both cultivated and wild 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, disorders and diseases include viruses, fungi, the larvae of flies, nematodes and mites. 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 increasingly popular in Europe following the 16th hundred years and by the past due 19th hundred years were an important commercial crop centred primarily on the Netherlands. Today narcissi are popular as cut blossoms so that ornamental vegetation in private and open public gardens. The long history of breeding has resulted in thousands of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are grouped into divisions, covering an array of colours and shapes. Like other members of the 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 resulted in the production of galantamine for the treating Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in literature and art, narcissi are associated with a true number of themes in several cultures, ranging from loss of life to good fortune, and as symbols of spring and coil. The daffodil is the national blossom of Wales and the image of cancer tumor charities in many countries. The looks of the crazy flowers in spring and coil is associated with festivals in many places.

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

The vegetation are scapose, having a single central leafless hollow flower stem (scape). Several blue-green or green, small, strap-shaped leaves happen from the light. The flower stem usually bears a solitary flower, but occasionally a cluster of blooms (umbel). The blossoms, that are conspicuous and white or yellowish usually, sometimes both or hardly ever inexperienced, consist of a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral pipe above the ovary, then an outside ring made up of six tepals (undifferentiated sepals and petals), and a central disk to conical molded corona. The plants may suspend down (pendent), or be erect. A couple of six pollen bearing stamens surrounding a central style. The ovary is poor (below the floral parts) comprising three chambers (trilocular). The berries involves a dry out capsule that splits (dehisces) liberating numerous black seeds.

The bulb is dormant after the leaves and flower stem die again and has contractile root base that yank it down further into the soil. The flower leaves and stem form in the bulb, to emerge the following season. Most types are dormant from summer to overdue winter, flowering in the planting season, though a few species are autumn flowering.

Narcissus Pictures

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