Narcissus Op.13 No.4 sheet music by Ethelbert Nevin

Narcissus /n?:r's?s?s/ is a genus of mainly spring perennial vegetation 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 the cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The blooms are generally white or yellow (orange or pink in garden varieties), with either standard or contrasting coloured tepals and corona.

Narcissus were well known in traditional civilisation, both and botanically medicinally, but formally identified by Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum (1753). The genus is normally thought to have about ten sections with approximately 50 species. The true variety of types has assorted, depending on how they are categorized, a consequence of to similarity between hybridization and types. The genus arose time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent areas of southwest Europe. The precise origin of the real name Narcissus is unfamiliar, but it is often linked to a Greek word for intoxicated (narcotic) and the misconception of the youth 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 commonly compared.

The kinds are local to meadows and woods in southern Europe and North Africa with a middle of variety in the Western Mediterranean, particularly the Iberian peninsula. Both wild and cultivated 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 also insect-pollinated. Known pests, diseases and disorders include viruses, fungi, the larvae of flies, mites and nematodes. Some Narcissus species have become extinct, while others 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 after the 16th century and by the past due 19th century were an important commercial crop centred mainly on the Netherlands. Today narcissi are popular as trim blooms so that as ornamental vegetation in private and general public gardens. 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 colours and shapes. Like other members with their family, narcissi create a true 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 within traditional healing and has led to the production of galantamine for the treating Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in skill and literature, narcissi are associated with a number of themes in various cultures, ranging from fatality to fortune, and as symbols of planting season. The daffodil is the countrywide blossom of Wales and the sign of malignancy charities in many countries. The appearance of the outrageous 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 a underground storage bulb. They regrow in the following season from brown-skinned ovoid lights with pronounced necks, and reach levels of 5-80 cm with regards to the species. Dwarf species such as N. asturiensis have a maximum height of 5-8 cm, while Narcissus tazetta might grow as high as 80 cm.

The crops are scapose, having a single central leafless hollow flower stem (scape). Several blue-green or green, slim, strap-shaped leaves come up from the bulb. The place stem usually bears a solitary bloom, but once in a while a cluster of blossoms (umbel). The flowers, which are conspicuous and white or yellowish usually, sometimes both or rarely green, contain a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral pipe above the ovary, then an exterior ring made up of six tepals (undifferentiated sepals and petals), and a central disc to conical formed corona. The blossoms may hang up down (pendent), or be erect. You can find six pollen bearing stamens adjoining a central style. The ovary is substandard (below the floral parts) consisting of three chambers (trilocular). The super fruit consists of a dried capsule that splits (dehisces) releasing numerous black seeds.

The bulb is placed dormant following the leaves and flower stem die back and has contractile origins that move it down further in to the soil. The bloom stem and leaves form in the light bulb, to emerge the next season. Most types are dormant from summer time to overdue winter, flowering in the spring, though a few kinds are autumn flowering.

Narcissus Pictures

Nevin. Narcissus arranged for String Quartet.

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