in Greek mythology a beautiful youth, the son of the river god Cephissus. Because he spurned the love of the nymph Echo, Narcissus was punished by Aphrodite: he fell in love with his own reflection in the water and died from unrequited passion. According to the myth, the gods transformed Narcissus into a flower.
a genus of herbaceous plants of the family Amaryllidaceae. The plants have perennial bulbs covered with brown layered scales. The leaves are linear, and the generally yellow or white flowers are solitary or in a cluster at the end of the flower stem. The perianth has a cylindrical tube and a spreading, six-segmented blade with a tubular, bell-shaped, or cuplike crown. The fruit is a fleshy capsule.
There are approximately 30 species of Narcissus (according to other data, up to 60), distributed primarily in the Mediterranean region. A single species, Narcissus angustifolius, grows wild in the USSR, in Transcarpathia. Narcissus are ornamentals that blossom in the spring. They are planted in gardens and parks and are raised for cuttings by forcing. Common single-flowered species include the daffodil (N. pseudonarcissus) and the poet’s narcissus (N. poëticus). Common species with several flowers include the polyanthus narcissus (N. tazetta) and the jonquil (N. jonquilla). The flowers of several species of Narcissus contain essential oils and are very fragrant; the bulbs contain a number of alkaloids.
O. M. POLETIKO