Narcissus in Chains Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, 10 by Laurell K

Narcissus /n?:r's?s?s/ is a genus of predominantly spring perennial vegetation in the Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis) family. Various common titles 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 plants are generally white or yellowish (orange or pink in garden kinds), with either even or contrasting coloured tepals and corona.

Narcissus were well known in old civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally referred to by Linnaeus in his Varieties Plantarum (1753). The genus is normally thought to have about ten parts with roughly 50 species. The amount of types has mixed, depending on how they are grouped, credited to similarity between species 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 origins of the name Narcissus is anonymous, but it is linked to a Greek word for intoxicated (narcotic) and the myth of the young ones of that name who fell in love with his own representation. The English expression 'daffodil' appears to be 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 center of diversity in the American Mediterranean, the Iberian peninsula particularly. Both wild and cultivated 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 others are threatened by increasing tourism and urbanisation.

Historical accounts suggest narcissi have been cultivated from the initial times, but became increasingly popular in Europe after the 16th century and by the overdue 19th hundred years were an important commercial crop centred mostly on the Netherlands. Narcissi are popular as lower plants so when ornamental vegetation in private and open public gardens today. The long history of breeding has led to a large number of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are categorized into divisions, covering a variety 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 accidentally ingested. This property has been exploited for medicinal used in traditional healing and has resulted in the production of galantamine for the treating Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in literature and artwork, narcissi are associated with a number of themes in several cultures, ranging from death to fortune, and as icons of spring. The daffodil is the countrywide blossom of Wales and the sign of cancer charities in many countries. The looks of the outrageous flowers in spring 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. They regrow in the following time from brown-skinned ovoid lights with pronounced necks, and reach heights of 5-80 cm depending on species. Dwarf kinds such as N. asturiensis have a maximum height of 5-8 cm, while Narcissus tazetta might grow as tall as 80 cm.

The plants are scapose, having a single central leafless hollow flower stem (scape). Several blue-green or green, small, strap-shaped leaves occur from the light bulb. The vegetable stem bears a solitary bloom, but sometimes a cluster of blossoms (umbel). The blooms, which can be conspicuous and white or yellowish usually, both or seldom inexperienced sometimes, contain a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral pipe above the ovary, then an outer 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 bordering a central style. The ovary is second-rate (below the floral parts) consisting of three chambers (trilocular). The berry contains a dry out capsule that splits (dehisces) liberating numerous black seed products.

The bulb is dormant after the leaves and blossom stem die back again and has contractile root base that move it down further into the soil. The blossom stem and leaves form in the light, to emerge the next season. Most types are dormant from summer months to overdue winter, flowering in the springtime, though a few types are autumn flowering.

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