Narcissus artble.com

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 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 blossoms are generally white or yellowish (orange or red in garden varieties), with either uniform or contrasting colored corona and tepals.

Narcissus were popular in ancient civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally referred to by Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum (1753). The genus is generally thought to have about ten areas with approximately 50 species. The amount of varieties has assorted, depending about how they are categorised, a consequence of to similarity between hybridization and kinds. The genus arose some right time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent regions of southwest Europe. The exact origins of the name Narcissus is unknown, but it is linked to a Greek word for intoxicated (narcotic) and the misconception of the young ones of that name who fell deeply in love with his own reflection. The English word 'daffodil' appears to be derived from "asphodel", with which it was commonly likened.

The kinds are local to meadows and woods in southern Europe and North Africa with a middle of diversity in the European Mediterranean, the Iberian peninsula particularly. Both cultivated and wild plants have naturalised widely, and were introduced in to the Far East prior to the tenth century. Narcissi have a tendency 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, 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 after the 16th hundred years and by the late 19th century were an important commercial crop centred mostly on the Netherlands. Today narcissi are popular as trim bouquets so that ornamental crops in private and general population gardens. The long history of breeding has led to thousands of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are grouped into divisions, covering a variety 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 used in traditional healing and has led to the production of galantamine for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in art and books, narcissi are associated with a true number of themes in various cultures, ranging from death to fortune, and as icons of planting season. The daffodil is the national flower of Wales and the sign of tumors 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 back after flowering to a underground storage light. They regrow in the next calendar year from brown-skinned ovoid bulbs with pronounced necks, and reach heights 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 grow as high as 80 cm.

The vegetation are scapose, having an individual central leafless hollow blossom stem (scape). Several green or blue-green, small, strap-shaped leaves occur from the light. The place stem bears a solitary bloom, but once in a while a cluster of flowers (umbel). The blooms, which can be usually conspicuous and white or yellow, sometimes both or almost never green, contain 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 molded corona. The plants may suspend down (pendent), or be erect. There are six pollen bearing stamens surrounding a central style. The ovary is poor (below the floral parts) consisting of three chambers (trilocular). The fruits includes a dry out capsule that splits (dehisces) liberating numerous black seeds.

The bulb is situated dormant after the leaves and flower stem die back again and has contractile origins that take it down further in to the soil. The blossom leaves and stem form in the light bulb, to emerge the next season. Most kinds are dormant from warmer summer months to late winter, flowering in the spring and coil, though a few types are fall flowering.

Narcissus Pictures

Lot145, Roman bronze Satyriskos, circa 1st Century B.C.1st CenturyA.D

Week 5: Ancient Rome Assignments Reading Resources Images

Narcissus Fresco Flickr Photo Sharing!

Caractacus at the Tribunal of Claudius at Rome