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Narcissus /n?:r's?s?s/ is a genus of mainly spring perennial plant life 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 flowers are generally white or yellow (orange or pink in garden types), with either uniform or contrasting colored tepals and corona.

Narcissus were well known in traditional civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally defined by Linnaeus in his Kinds Plantarum (1753). The genus is normally considered to have about ten areas with around 50 species. The true amount of kinds has assorted, depending on how they are labeled, due to similarity between varieties and hybridization. The genus arose time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent areas of southwest Europe. The precise origins of the real name Narcissus is anonymous, but it is linked to a Greek word for intoxicated (narcotic) and the myth of the junior of this name who fell in love with his own representation. The English phrase 'daffodil' appears to be derived from "asphodel", with which it was compared commonly.

The kinds are local to meadows and woods in southern European countries and North Africa with a middle of variety in the Traditional 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, 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 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 late 19th century were an important commercial crop centred primarily on the Netherlands. Today narcissi are popular as slash blossoms so that ornamental plants 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 wide range of shapes and colours. Like other members with their family, narcissi create a number of different alkaloids, which provide some protection for the plant, but may be poisonous if ingested inadvertently. 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 artwork, narcissi are associated with a number of themes in various cultures, ranging from fatality to fortune, and as symbols of springtime. The daffodil is the countrywide bloom of Wales and the icon of cancer charities in many countries. The appearance of the untamed flowers in spring is associated with celebrations in many places.

Narcissus is a genus of perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes, dying back after flowering for an underground storage bulb. They regrow in the following year from brown-skinned ovoid lights with pronounced necks, and reach levels of 5-80 cm with respect to the species. Dwarf species such as N. asturiensis have a maximum height of 5-8 cm, while Narcissus tazetta may increase as large as 80 cm.

The vegetation are scapose, having a single central leafless hollow rose stem (scape). Several green or blue-green, small, strap-shaped leaves arise from the bulb. The plant stem bears a solitary flower, but once in a while a cluster of plants (umbel). The plants, that are usually conspicuous and white or yellowish, sometimes both or hardly ever renewable, contain a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral pipe above the ovary, then an external ring made up of six tepals (undifferentiated sepals and petals), and a central disc to conical formed corona. The blooms may hang up down (pendent), or be erect. You will discover six pollen bearing stamens encircling a central style. The ovary is second-rate (below the floral parts) comprising three chambers (trilocular). The berries contains a dried capsule that splits (dehisces) liberating numerous black seeds.

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

Narcissus Pictures

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