Gods and Foolish Grandeur: Narcissus is more than a flower

Narcissus /n?:r's?s?s/ is a genus of mostly spring perennial crops in the Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis) family. Various common names including daffodil,[notes 1] daffadowndilly,[3] narcissus, and jonquil are 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 blooms are generally white or yellow (orange or green in garden types), with either even or contrasting coloured corona and tepals.

Narcissus were well known in historical civilisation, both and botanically medicinally, but formally detailed by Linnaeus in his Kinds Plantarum (1753). The genus is generally considered to have about ten areas with about 50 species. The number of varieties has assorted, depending how they are grouped, credited to similarity between types and hybridization. The genus arose some right time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent areas of southwest Europe. The precise origins of the true name Narcissus is unknown, but it is associated with a Greek expression for intoxicated (narcotic) and the myth of the youngsters of this name who fell in love with his own reflection. The English word 'daffodil' appears to be produced from "asphodel", with which it was commonly likened.

The species are native to meadows and woods in southern European countries and North Africa with a center of diversity in the Traditional western Mediterranean, particularly the Iberian peninsula. Both cultivated and wild plants have naturalised widely, and were introduced in to the Far East before the tenth century. Narcissi have a tendency to be long-lived bulbs, which propagate by division, but are insect-pollinated also. Known pests, diseases and disorders include viruses, fungi, the larvae of flies, mites and nematodes. Some Narcissus species have grown to be 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 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 chop flowers so when ornamental vegetation in private and general public gardens. The long history of breeding has resulted in a large number of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are grouped into divisions, covering a variety of colours and shapes. Like other members of these family, narcissi produce a true number of different alkaloids, which provide some protection for the plant, but may be poisonous if ingested accidentally. This property has been exploited for medicinal utilization in traditional healing and has led to the production of galantamine for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in literature and skill, narcissi are associated with a true number of themes in various cultures, ranging from loss of life to good fortune, and as icons of springtime. The daffodil is the national flower of Wales and the symbol of cancer charities in many countries. The appearance of the outdoors flowers in springtime is associated with celebrations in many places.

Narcissus is a genus of perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes, dying back after flowering for an underground storage light. They regrow in the next season from brown-skinned ovoid lights with pronounced necks, and reach heights of 5-80 cm depending on the species. Dwarf types such as N. asturiensis have a maximum level of 5-8 cm, while Narcissus tazetta may grow as tall as 80 cm.

The crops are scapose, having an individual central leafless hollow rose stem (scape). Several blue-green or green, slim, strap-shaped leaves occur from the light bulb. The flower stem bears a solitary flower, but once in a while a cluster of flowers (umbel). The blooms, that happen to be usually conspicuous and white or yellowish, sometimes both or hardly ever renewable, consist of a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral pipe above the ovary, then an outside ring made up of six tepals (undifferentiated sepals and petals), and a central disk to conical designed corona. The blossoms may suspend down (pendent), or be erect. You will find six pollen bearing stamens bordering a central style. The ovary is second-rate (below the floral parts) consisting of three chambers (trilocular). The super fruit consists of a dried out capsule that splits (dehisces) launching numerous black seed products.

The bulb lies dormant after the leaves and blossom stem die back and has contractile roots that move it down further in to the soil. The rose leaves and stem form in the light bulb, to emerge the following season. Most types are dormant from summer to past due winter, flowering in the planting season, though a few kinds are fall flowering.

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