Narcissus Villa in Santorini

Narcissus /n?:r's?s?s/ is a genus of mostly spring perennial vegetation 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 with a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The blooms are generally white or yellowish (orange or pink in garden varieties), with either uniform or contrasting colored tepals and corona.

Narcissus were popular in historic civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally defined by Linnaeus in his Types Plantarum (1753). The genus is normally thought to have about ten parts with about 50 species. The amount of species has mixed, depending on how they are categorised, a consequence of to similarity between hybridization and kinds. 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 source of the name Narcissus is unidentified, but it is linked to a Greek term for intoxicated (narcotic) and the misconception of the children of this name who fell in love with his own reflection. The English term 'daffodil' is apparently produced from "asphodel", with which it was likened commonly.

The varieties are native to meadows and woods in southern Europe and North Africa with a centre of variety in the European Mediterranean, particularly the Iberian peninsula. Both wild and cultivated plants have naturalised widely, and were presented into the ASIA to the tenth century prior. Narcissi have a tendency 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, mites and nematodes. Some Narcissus species have grown to be extinct, while some are threatened by increasing urbanisation and tourism.

Historical accounts suggest narcissi have been cultivated from the earliest times, but became increasingly popular in Europe after the 16th hundred years and by the late 19th century were an important commercial crop centred mainly on holland. Today narcissi are popular as slice blossoms and since ornamental crops in private and general population gardens. The long history of breeding has led to thousands of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are grouped into divisions, covering a wide range of colours and shapes. Like other members of their family, narcissi produce a number of different alkaloids, which provide some protection for the plant, but may be poisonous if ingested unintentionally. This property has been exploited for medicinal used in traditional healing and has resulted in the production of galantamine for the treating Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in skill and books, narcissi are associated with a true number of themes in different cultures, ranging from loss of life to good fortune, and as icons of spring. The daffodil is the countrywide bloom of Wales and the symbol of malignancy charities in many countries. The looks of the untamed flowers in planting season is associated with celebrations in many places.

Narcissus is a genus of perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes, dying again after flowering to the underground storage light bulb. They regrow in the next time from brown-skinned ovoid lights with pronounced necks, and reach heights of 5-80 cm with respect to the species. Dwarf varieties such as N. asturiensis have a maximum level of 5-8 cm, while Narcissus tazetta may develop as large as 80 cm.

The crops are scapose, having a single central leafless hollow flower stem (scape). Several green or blue-green, small, strap-shaped leaves happen from the bulb. The flower stem bears a solitary blossom, but sometimes a cluster of blossoms (umbel). The blossoms, that are conspicuous and white or yellowish usually, both or seldom renewable sometimes, contain a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral pipe above the ovary, then an exterior ring made up of six tepals (undifferentiated sepals and petals), and a central disc to conical formed corona. The blossoms may hang down (pendent), or be erect. You can find six pollen bearing stamens encircling a central style. The ovary is inferior (below the floral parts) consisting of three chambers (trilocular). The fruit contains a dried out capsule that splits (dehisces) liberating numerous black seeds.

The bulb is dormant after the leaves and rose stem die back again and has contractile origins that yank it down further in to the soil. The blossom leaves and stem form in the light, to emerge the following season. Most species are dormant from summer months to past due winter, flowering in the planting season, though a few species are autumn flowering.

Narcissus Pictures