82 FLORA AND THALIA. 



NARCISSUS. 



(J^/^arcissiis Tazetta.) 



This beautiful and fragrant flower is a native of 

 Northern India, of China, and Japan. Sir James 

 Smith informs us that it decorated in profusion the 

 banks of the Alpheus: even the barbarians had taste 

 enough to collect nosegays of those lovely flowers. 

 The appearance of this elegantly formed flower, so 

 early in the season, we hail with more pleasure, 

 because it is almost among the first to welcome the 

 approach of spring. The colour of the corolla varies ; 

 some being white, with a deep yellow cup edged 

 with red ; others pale primrose ; and some entirely 

 of a bright yellow. By the art of cultivation, the 

 florists have produced a very fine variety with double 

 petals in the corolla. 



Class, Hexandria. Order, Monogtxia. 



