Definition
Narcissus flowers are part of a genus of plants, that include flowers such as the daffodil, jonquil, and paperwhites, just to name a few. They are stunningly beautiful plants and are actually the most popular flower in Germany. Narcissi flowers bloom in the spring, and have a cone shaped flower, surrounded by petals. The are very easy to grow from bulbs, and so can be transplanted very easily in either the spring or the fall, when they are not growing or storing energy. Narcissi bulbs are poisonous and so should not be ingested in any way.
Narcissi are native to the Mediterranean region and can also be found throughout central Asia and China as well. They are not native to the Americas, so it can safely be said that they were brought by Europeans who were looking to trade, or who just wanted to plant them in their gardens. Just to make it a little more interesting, the Narcissus flower is linked to a mythological story of love, heartbreak and death.
Classification
Kingdom – Plantae
Division – Magnoliophyta
Class – Liliopsida
Order – Asparagales
Family – Amaryllidaceae
Genus – Narcissus
Varieties
Daffodils - These are the most popular species in the Narcissi genus, and for good reason. They are extremely beautiful.
Paperwhites - These are white in color and have a very powerful smell to them. They bloom early in the year.
Jonquils - These have small, yellow flowers on them, and have small, round leaves. Fragrance is very strong with these as well.
Toxcicity
Every species of Narcissus contains a toxin called lycorine, which is found in both the leaves and the bulb, however, most is found in the bulbs. The bulbs looks very similar to onions, and so can be mistakenly placed into food. This happened in a school in Suffolk, England, when a bulb was accidently placed into a pot of soup. The children all became extremely ill.
Certain species of narcissus flowers also display tendencies to incite irritation to the skin, often called ‘daffodil itch’ by scientists. Often times, a thickening of the skin beneath the fingernails accompanies this irritation. It is believed that this reaction is caused by the calcium oxalate, that is found in the sap of the most prone species that cause this problem.
Medicine
Traditional Japanese medicine, called kampo, used narcissus roots as one ingredient, however, modern kampo has done away with this ingredient. Aulus Cornelius Celsus, a Roman physician, found that narcissus roots were very healthy, and helped to remove toxins from the body. In modern science, the ethanol extract was found beneficial.