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NARCISSUS

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Originally appearing in Volume V19, Page 239 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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NARCISSUS , a genus of bulbous See also:

PLANTS

plants belonging to the See also:

FAMILY

family Amaryllidaceae, natives of central See also:

EUROPE

Europe and the Mediterranean region; one See also:

SPECIES

species N. Tazetta, extends through See also:

ASIA

Asia to See also:

JAPAN

Japan. From these, or rather from some of these, by cultivation and hybridization, have arisen the very numerous See also:

MODERN

modern varieties. The plants have See also:

long narrow leaves See also:

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring- See also:

ing from the bulb and a central scape bearing one or more generally large, See also:

white or yellow, drooping or inclined See also:

FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

flowers, I which are enveloped before opening in a membranous 4 spathe. The flowers are See also:

REGULAR

regular, with a perianth springing from above the ovary, tubular below, with spreading segments and a central See also:

CORONA (Lat. for " crown ")

corona; the six stamens are inserted within the See also:

TUBE (Lat. tuba)

tube. The most interesting feature botanically is the " corona " or " See also:

CUP (in O.E. cuppe; generally taken to be from Late Lat. cuppa, a variant of Lat. cupa, a cask, cf. Gr. KuaeXXov)

cup," which springs from the Fia. 1.—Flowers of Narcissus See also:

BASE

base of the See also:

flower-segments. (Narcissus Tazetta) bursting from This gives the See also:

SPECIAL

special See also:

CHAR (Salvelinus)

char-the sheathing bract or spathe, b. acter to the flower, and the members of the genus are classified according to the length of this See also:

ORGAN

organ as compared with that of the segments. The most probable supposition is that the cup is simply an excrescence or " enation " from the mouth of the flower-tube, and is connected with the fertilization of the flowers by See also:

INSECT

insect agency. F1c. 2.-See also:

DAFFODIL

Daffodil—(Narcissus Pseudonarcissus). 1, Flower cut open; 2, See also:

PISTIL

pistil; 3, See also:

HORIZONTAL

horizontal See also:

plan of flower.

thickets in most parts of the See also:

north of Europe, but is rare in See also:

Scotland. Its leaves are five or six in number, are about 1 ft. in length and i in. in breadth, and have a See also:

blunt See also:

KEEL

keel and See also:

FLAT (a modification of O. Eng. flet, an obsolete word of Teutonic origin, meaning the ground beneath the feet)

flat edges. The See also:

STEM (O. Eng. staefn, stemn, cf. Du. stain, Ger. Stamm, &c., probably related to " staff ")

stem is about 18 in. long and the spathe single-flowered. The flowers are large, yellow, scented and a little drooping, with a corolla deeply cleft into six lobes and a See also:

bell-shaped corona which is crisped at the margin; they appear in See also:

March or See also:

APRIL

April. In this species the corona is also very large and prominent, but is more elongated and See also:

trumpet-shaped, while the other members are regarded as subspecies or varieties of this. Of this See also:

GROUP

group the most striking one perhaps is N, bicolor, which has the perianth almost white and the corona deep yellow; it yields a number of varieties, some of the best known being Empress, Horsfieldi, See also:

GRANDEE (Span. Grande)

Grandee, Ellen Willmott, See also:

Victoria, Weardale Perfection, &c. N. moschatus, a native of the See also:

PYRENEES [Span. Pirineos, Fr. Pyrenees]

Pyrenees and the See also:

SPANISH

Spanish See also:

peninsula, is a cream-coloured subspecies of See also:

GREAT

great beauty with several forms. N. cyclamineus is a See also:

PRETTY

pretty See also:

DWARF (A.S. dweorg, D. dwerg, Icel. dvergr)

dwarf sub-species, native of See also:

PORTUGAL

Portugal, with narrow linear leaves and drooping flowers with reflexed See also:

lemon-yellow segments and an See also:

orange-yellow corona N. See also:

major is a robust See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form with leaves I—; in. broad and See also:

bright demon-yellow flowers 2—21 in. long; See also:

maximus is a closely-related but still finer form; obvallaris (the See also:

TENBY

Tenby daffodil) is an See also:

early form with uniformly yellow flowers. N. See also:

minor and minimus are See also:

MINIATURE

miniature repetitions of the daffodil. All these grow well in See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good See also:

GARDEN (from O. Fr. garden, mod. Fr. jardin; this, like our words " garth," a paddock attached to a building, and " yard," comes from a Teutonic word for an enclosure which appears in Gothic as gards and O. H. Ger. gart, cf. Dutch gaarde and Ger. .garten)

garden See also:

SOIL

soil, and blossom from March onwards, coming in very early in genial seasons. 3. Another group, the See also:

MOCK

mock narcissi or See also:

STAR

star daffodils, with coronets of See also:

MEDIUM

medium See also:

SIZE

size, includes the See also:

FINE

fine and numerous varieties of N. incomparabilis, one of which, with large, See also:

double flowers, is known as See also:

BUTTER (Lat. butyrum, Gr. 0obrvpov, apparently connected with $ous, cow, and rvpbs, cheese, but, according to the New English Dictionary, perhaps of Scythian origin)

butter-and-eggs; N. odorus, known as the campernelle jonquil, has two to four See also:

UNIFORM

uniform bright yellow flowers, and is considered a hybrid between N.

Jonquilla and N. Pseudonarcissus. A form with sweet-scented double flowers is known as See also:

Queen See also:

Ann's jonquil; N. juncifolius, a graceful little plant from See also:

Spain, Portugal and See also:

south See also:

France, has one to four small bright yellow flowers on each scape. The hardier forms of this set thrive in the open border, but the smaller sorts, like Queen Ann's ionqu'l, are better taken up in autumn and replanted in See also:

FEBRUARY

February; they See also:

BLOOM (from A.S. bloma, a flower)

bloom freely about April or May. N. triandrus—See also:

GANYMEDE

Ganymede's Cup--is a pretty little species with white flowers about i in. long; in several of its varieties the flowers are a See also:

PALE (through Fr. pal, from Lat. palms, a stake, for paglus, from the stem pag- of pangere, to fix; " pole " is from the same original source)

pale or deeper yellow; they make attractive pot plants. 4. The See also:

POLYANTHUS

polyanthus or bunch narcissi form another well-marked group, whose peculiarity of producing many flowers on the stem is indicated by the name. In these the corona is small and shallow as compared with the perianth. Some of the hardier forms, as N. Tazetta itself, the type of the group, succeed in the open See also:

BORDERS, THE

borders in See also:

LIGHT

light well-drained soil, but the bulbs should be deeply planted, not less than 6 or 8 in. below the See also:

SURFACE

surface, to See also:

ESCAPE (in mid. Eng. eschape or escape, from the O. Fr. eschapper, modern echapper, and escaper, low Lat. escapium, from ex, out of, and cappa, cape, cloak; cf. for the sense development the Gr. iichueoOat, literally to put off one's clothes, hence to sli

escape See also:

RISK

risk of injury from See also:

frost. Many varieties of this form of narcissus, such as See also:

GRAND

Grand Monarque, See also:

Paper white, Soleil d'or, are grown. They admit of being forced into early bloom, like the See also:

hyacinth and See also:

TULIP (Tulipa)

tulip.

They vary with a white, creamy or yellow perianth, and a yellow, lemon, See also:

PRIMROSE

primrose or white cup or coronet; and, being richly fragrant, they are See also:

general favourites amongst spring flowers. Many tons of these flowers are exported from the Scilly Isles to the See also:

LONDON

London markets in spring. The " See also:

CHINESE, JAPANESE AND

Chinese sacred See also:

LILY

lily " or " See also:

JOSS

joss flower " is a form of N. Tazetta. The jonquil, N. Jonquilla, with yellow flowers, a native of south Europe and See also:

Algeria, of which there are single and double flowered varieties, is also grown in pots for early flowering, but does well outside in a warm border. 5. There remains another little group, the poet's or See also:

PHEASANT

pheasant's-See also:

eye narcissi (N. poeticus), in which the perianth is large, spreading and conspicuous, and the corona very small and shallow. These pheasant's-eye narcissi, of which there are several well-marked varieties, as radii/lams, poetarum, recurvus, &c., blossom in See also:

SUCCESSION (Lat. successio, from succedere, to follow after)

succession during April and May, and all do well in the open borders as permanent See also:

hardy bulbs. N. biflorus, the primrose peerless, a two-flowered whitish yellow-cupped species, equally hardy and easy of culture, is a natural hybrid between N. poeticus and Tazetta. N. gracilis, a yellow-flowered species, has also been regarded as a hybrid between N. Tazetta and N. juncifolius, and blooms later.

Of See also:

LATE

late years some remarkably fine hybrids have been raised between the various distinct See also:

groups of narcissi, and the prices asked for the bulbs in many cases are exceedingly high. One of the most distinct groups is that known under the name of " Poetaz "—a See also:

COMBINATION (Lat. combinare, to combine)

combination of poeticus and Tazetta. The best forms of poeticus ornatus have been crossed with the bunch-flowered Tazettas, and have resulted in producing varieties with large trusses of exquisite flowers more or less resembling the ornatus parents, and varying in See also:

COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour from the purest white to yellow, the rim of the corona being in most cases conspicuously and charmingly coloured with red or See also:

CRIMSON

crimson. This is an excellent group for cutting purposes, but it will take a few more years to make the varieties See also:

COMMON

common. For an See also:

account of the See also:

HISTORY

history and culture of the narcissus see F. W. Burbidge, The Narcissus (1875) ; a more See also:

RECENT

recent scientific treatment of the genus will be found in J. G. See also:

Baker's Handbook of A-marvllideae (1888); see also See also:

Nicholson, See also:

DICTIONARY

Dictionary of Gardening (1886) ; and J. Weathers, See also:

PRACTICAL

Practical See also:

GUIDE (in Mid. Eng. gyde, from the Fr. guide; the earlier French form was guie, English " guy," the d was due to the Italian form guida; the ultimate origin is probably Teutonic, the word being connected with the base seen in O. Eng. witan, to know)

Guide to Garden Plants (1901).

End of Article: NARCISSUS

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