Narcissus Villa in Santorini

Narcissus /n?:r's?s?s/ is a genus of mainly 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 blooms are usually white or yellowish (orange or green in garden types), with either even or contrasting coloured corona and tepals.

Narcissus were popular in historical civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally described by Linnaeus in his Kinds Plantarum (1753). The genus is normally considered to have about ten portions with around 50 species. The number of types has assorted, depending on how they are grouped, due to similarity between species and hybridization. The genus arose some time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent areas of southwest Europe. The precise origin of the true name Narcissus is anonymous, but it is associated with a Greek phrase for intoxicated (narcotic) and the misconception of the youngsters of this name who fell in love with his own representation. The English phrase 'daffodil' is apparently produced from "asphodel", with which it was compared commonly.

The types are native to meadows and woods in southern Europe and North Africa with a center of diversity in the Western Mediterranean, the Iberian peninsula particularly. Both wild and cultivated plants have naturalised widely, and were introduced into 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, nematodes and mites. Some Narcissus species have become extinct, while some 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 hundred years and by the overdue 19th hundred years were an important commercial crop centred generally on the Netherlands. Today narcissi are popular as slice bouquets as ornamental plants in private and open public gardens. The long history of breeding has resulted in thousands of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are categorised into divisions, covering a wide range of shapes and colours. Like other members of the 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 use within traditional healing and has resulted in the production of galantamine for the treating Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in books and art work, narcissi are associated with a true number of themes in several cultures, ranging from fatality to fortune, and as symbols of spring. The daffodil is the nationwide bloom of Wales and the image of tumors charities in many countries. The appearance of the untamed flowers in planting season is associated with festivals 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 next time from brown-skinned ovoid bulbs with pronounced necks, and reach levels of 5-80 cm depending on species. Dwarf kinds such as N. asturiensis have a maximum level of 5-8 cm, while Narcissus tazetta might increase as tall as 80 cm.

The plants are scapose, having an individual central leafless hollow bloom stem (scape). Several green or blue-green, slim, strap-shaped leaves arise from the bulb. The flower stem usually bears a solitary blossom, but sometimes a cluster of blossoms (umbel). The plants, that are usually conspicuous and white or yellowish, sometimes both or hardly ever inexperienced, contain a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral pipe above the ovary, then an external ring composed of six tepals (undifferentiated sepals and petals), and a central disc to conical shaped corona. The blossoms may hang up 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 fruit involves a dried up capsule that splits (dehisces) launching numerous black seed products.

The bulb is dormant after the leaves and blossom stem die back again and has contractile origins that draw it down further in to the soil. The rose leaves and stem form in the light, to emerge the next season. Most varieties are dormant from summer time to later winter, flowering in the planting season, though a few kinds are autumn flowering.

Narcissus Pictures