Scottish Rock Garden Club gt;Bulb Log

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 used to describe all or some known members of the genus. Narcissus has conspicuous flowers with six petal-like tepals surmounted with a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The blossoms are usually white or yellowish (orange or green in garden types), with either standard or contrasting coloured tepals and corona.

Narcissus were popular in historical civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally identified by Linnaeus in his Types Plantarum (1753). The genus is normally thought to have about ten parts with approximately 50 species. The amount of types has varied, depending on how they are labeled, a consequence of to similarity between hybridization and varieties. 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 origin of the name Narcissus is unfamiliar, but it is associated with a Greek term for intoxicated (narcotic) and the myth of the youth of that name who fell in love with his own reflection. The English word 'daffodil' appears to be produced from "asphodel", with which it was likened commonly.

The types are indigenous to meadows and woods in southern European countries 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 into 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, disorders and diseases include viruses, fungi, the larvae of flies, nematodes and mites. 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 ever more popular in Europe following the 16th century and by the past due 19th century were an important commercial crop centred generally on holland. Narcissi are popular as trim blooms so when ornamental crops in private and general public gardens today. The long history of breeding has resulted in a large number of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are classified into divisions, covering a wide range of shapes and colours. 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 in traditional healing and has resulted in the production of galantamine for the treating Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in art work and literature, narcissi are associated with a number of themes in different cultures, ranging from death to good fortune, and as icons of spring. The daffodil is the countrywide blossom of Wales and the icon of cancer charities in many countries. The looks of the wild flowers in springtime is associated with festivals in many places.

Narcissus is a genus of perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes, dying back after flowering to a underground storage light bulb. They regrow in the next 12 months from brown-skinned ovoid bulbs with pronounced necks, and reach heights of 5-80 cm depending on the species. Dwarf kinds such as N. asturiensis have a maximum height of 5-8 cm, while Narcissus tazetta might increase as extra tall as 80 cm.

The vegetation are scapose, having an individual central leafless hollow bloom stem (scape). Several blue-green or green, narrow, strap-shaped leaves come up from the bulb. The seed stem usually bears a solitary bloom, but occasionally a cluster of flowers (umbel). The plants, which are usually conspicuous and white or yellowish, both or almost never green sometimes, contain a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral tube above the ovary, then an external ring made up of six tepals (undifferentiated sepals and petals), and a central disc to conical shaped corona. The flowers may hang down (pendent), or be erect. You will find six pollen bearing stamens bordering a central style. The ovary is substandard (below the floral parts) comprising three chambers (trilocular). The super fruit includes a dried out capsule that splits (dehisces) releasing numerous black seeds.

The bulb is dormant following the leaves and flower stem die back again and has contractile roots that pull it down further in to the soil. The bloom leaves and stem form in the bulb, to emerge the following season. Most varieties are dormant from warmer summer months to later winter, flowering in the planting season, though a few species are autumn flowering.

Narcissus Pictures

Narcissus Species and natural hybrids