Narcissus tazetta Bunchflower daffodil, Paperwhite daffodil

Narcissus /n?:r's?s?s/ is a genus of mainly spring perennial plants in the Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis) family. Various common brands 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 the cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The plants are usually white or yellowish (orange or pink in garden types), with either standard or contrasting coloured corona and tepals.

Narcissus were well known in early civilisation, both and botanically medicinally, but formally detailed by Linnaeus in his Kinds Plantarum (1753). The genus is normally thought to have about ten areas with about 50 species. The true amount of kinds has assorted, depending about how they are categorized, due to similarity between hybridization and kinds. The genus arose some time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent regions of southwest Europe. The precise origins of the real name Narcissus is unfamiliar, but it is associated with a Greek expression for intoxicated (narcotic) and the misconception of the youngsters of this name who fell in love with his own reflection. The English phrase 'daffodil' is apparently produced from "asphodel", with which it was commonly compared.

The varieties are local to meadows and woods in southern European countries and North Africa with a middle of diversity in the Western Mediterranean, the Iberian peninsula particularly. Both cultivated and wild plants have naturalised widely, and were released in to the Far East to the tenth hundred years prior. 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 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 increasingly popular in Europe following the 16th century and by the later 19th hundred years were an important commercial crop centred generally on the Netherlands. Narcissi are popular as lower blooms as ornamental vegetation in private and general public gardens today. The long history of breeding has led to thousands of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are grouped into divisions, covering a variety of shapes and colours. Like other members with their family, narcissi produce 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 utilization in traditional healing and has led to the production of galantamine for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in literature and artwork, narcissi are associated with a number of themes in various cultures, ranging from fatality to good fortune, and as symbols of springtime. The daffodil is the nationwide blossom of Wales and the image of cancers charities in many countries. The looks of the outrageous flowers in spring is associated with festivals in many places.

Narcissus is a genus of perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes, dying back again after flowering to an underground storage light bulb. They regrow in the next season from brown-skinned ovoid light 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 expand as large as 80 cm.

The plants are scapose, having an individual central leafless hollow blossom stem (scape). Several blue-green or green, narrow, strap-shaped leaves come up from the light. The vegetable stem bears a solitary rose, but sometimes a cluster of bouquets (umbel). The blossoms, which can be usually conspicuous and white or yellowish, both or almost never renewable sometimes, 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 disk to conical shaped corona. The flowers may hang down (pendent), or be erect. A couple of six pollen bearing stamens adjoining a central style. The ovary is poor (below the floral parts) consisting of three chambers (trilocular). The fruits contains a dry out capsule that splits (dehisces) liberating numerous black seed products.

The bulb is situated dormant after the leaves and bloom stem die back again and has contractile origins that take it down further into the soil. The rose leaves and stem form in the light bulb, to emerge the next season. Most varieties are dormant from summer months to late winter, flowering in the spring and coil, though a few kinds are fall months flowering.

Narcissus Pictures

Narcissus tazetta, Angelo Porcelli

Description Narcissus tazetta var.chinensis Roem.JPG

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Tazetta Narcissus, Falconet and Golden Dawn