162 



N AR 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



N A R 



bends down and becomes elbowed, whereas in the first spe- 

 cies it continues upright till within a short time of the flowers 

 expanding. Native of several parts of Europe. Gerarde 

 says that it grows wild in fields, and by the sides of woods 

 in the west of England : Ray also observed it wild, but sus- 

 pected that it might have originally come out of gardens. 

 It has been found near Hornsey Church ; in several places 

 near Harefield; near Halifax; and near Whitechurch in 

 Cheshire. It flowers towards the end of April. 



3. Narcissus Pseudo-Narcissus; Common Daffodil. Spathe 

 one-flowered ; nectary bell-shaped, erect, curled, equalling 

 the ovate petals; root large, bulbous, from which come out 

 five or six flat leaves, about a foot long, and an inch broad, 

 of a grayish colour, and a little hollow in the middle, like the 

 keel of a boat. The stalk rises a foot and half high, having 

 two sharp longitudinal angles ; . at the top comes out one 

 nodding flower, inclosed in a thin spathe; the corolla is of 

 one petal, being connected at the base, but cut almost to 

 the bottom into six spreading parts ; in the middle is a bell- 

 shaped nectary, called by gardeners the cup, which is equal 

 in length to the petal, and stands erect. The petal is of a 

 pale brimstone or straw colour, and the nectary is of a full 

 yellow ; seeds roundish, black. The principal varieties : 1 . 

 With. white petals, and a pale yellow cup.. 2. With yellow 

 petals, and a golden cup. 3. With a double flower. 4. With 

 three or four cups within each other. 5. Tradescant's Daf- 

 fodil. Native of many parts of Europe ; Spain, Italy, Ger- 

 many, Switzerland, France, and England, where it flowers in 

 March, being of rapid growth, and short duration, and is 

 found in pastures, woods, and hedges. It has been observ- 

 ed near Charlton, Woolwich, and Erith, in Kent ; in Nor- 

 folk; Whitwell, near Coton, and Whittlesford, in Cam- 

 bridgeshire; Nokewoods, in Oxfordshire ; in abundance near 

 Halifax; at Hanley. Castle, in Worcester ; Madeley, in Shrop- 

 shire ; in Lancashire ; and beyond Erdington on the road 

 from Birmingham to Sutton it covers almost a whole field. 



4. Narcissus Bicolor ; White and Yellow Daffodil. Spathe 

 one-flowered ; nectary bell-shaped, with the margin spread- 

 ing, curled, equalling the petals. This resembles the com- 

 mon Daffodil ; but the petals are white, the nectary is dark 

 yellow and larger, with a spreading, waved, notched border. 

 Gouan says it is easily distinguished by its leaves, scarcely 

 a palm in length, and half an inch in breadth ; by its large 

 flower, with cordate-ovate petals, imbricate at the base, and 

 8ulphur-coloued; and by the nectary having a reflex mouth, 

 twelve-cleft or thereabouts, the lobes also being toothed and 

 curled ; the scape is the length of the leaves, or a little 

 shorter and thicker. There is a variety of this species, called 

 the Great Daffodil, which is the largest of the genus, and 

 bears the most magnificent flowers ; and though it has been 

 long known in this country, is still confined to the gardens 

 of the curious : it is taller than the common Daffodil, which 

 it resembles in general appearance, but its leaves are more 

 twisted, as well as more glaucous; the flower, but especially 

 the nectary, is much larger, and the petals, which are always 

 of a bright yellow, more spreading. Native of Spain, and 

 varies with double flowers. It flowers in April and May, 

 and is a native of the South of Europe. 



5. Narcissus Minor; Least Daffodil. Spathe one-flowered; 

 nectary obconical, erect, curled, six-cleft, equalling the lan- 

 ceolate petals. This is very nearly related to the common 

 sort, and is three times less in all its parts ; but notwith- 

 standing this, when the roots are planted in a cluster, the 

 flowers make a very pretty show, and have the advantage of 

 appearing rather earlier than any of the others. The petals 

 are pale yellow, the cup darker. Native of Spain. 



6. Narcissus Moschatus; Musk Narcissus. Spathe one- 

 flowered; nectary cylindric, truncate, subrepand, equalling 

 the oolong petals. Native of Spain. 



7. Narcissus Triandrus ; Rusk-leaved Narcissus, or Tte- 

 flexed Daffodil. Spathe one or two flowered ; flowers droop- 

 ing ; petals reflexed, three of the stamina longer. This is 

 the same size as the first species ; which see. The whole of 

 the corolla is snow white. Native of the Pyrenees. 



8. Narcissus Orientals ; Oriental Narcissus. Spathe one 

 or two flowered ; nectary bell-shaped, trifid, emarginate, 

 three times shorter than the petals ; corolla white. It flower* 

 in May. Native of the Levant. 



9. Narcissus Trilobus. Spath submultiflorous; nectary 

 bell-shaped, subtrified, quite entire, shorter by half than the 

 petals. Native of the South of Europe. 



10. Narcissus Odorus ; Siveet- scented Narcissus, or Great 

 Jonquil. Spathe one or two-flowered ; nectary bell-shaped, 

 six-cleft, even, shorter by half than the petals ; leaves semi- 

 cylindric ; flowers deep yellow colour. This species, which, 

 as its name implies, possesses more fragrance than many of 

 the others, is a native of the South of Europe, flowers in 

 April, and varies with double flowers. See the fifteenth 

 species. 



11. Narcissus Calathinus. Spathe many-flowered ; nec- 

 tary bell-shaped, almost equalling the petals ; leaves flat. 

 This very much resembles the next species, but the petals are 

 a little larger and sharper, and the nectary is the same length 

 as the petals. It has the odour of the Jonquil. Native of 

 the south of Europe, and the Levant, See the fifteenth 

 species. 



12. Narcissus Tazzetta; Polyanthus Narcissus. Spathe 

 many-flowered; nectary bell-shaped, plaited, truncate, three 

 times shorter than the petals ; leaves flat. Bulb large, round- 

 ish ; scape or flower-stalk broadish, upright, angular, con- 

 cave, from ten or twelve to eighteen inches in height; flowers 

 six or seven to ten from one spathe, very fragrant, clustered, 

 white, or yellow. There is a greater variety of the Polyan- 

 thus Narcissus than of all the other species ; for the flowers 

 being very ornamental, and coming early in the spring, the 

 florists in Holland, Flanders, and France, have taken great 

 pains in cultivating and improving them. The principal 

 varieties are, 1. Petals yellow, with orange, yellow, or sul- 

 phur-coloured cups OF nectaries. 2. Petals white, with 

 orange, yellow, or sulphur-coloured cups or nectaries. 

 3. Petals white, with white cups or nectaries. 4. Double 

 flowers of the different varieties. The varieties with white 

 petals and white cups, are not so much esteemed as the 

 others ; there are, however, two or three with large bunches 

 of small white flowers, which are valuable for their agreeable 

 odour, and for flowering later than most of the others. 

 There is also one with very double flowers, the outer petals 

 white, those in the middle some white, others orange coloured. 

 This has a very agreeable scent, flowers early, and is generally 

 called the Cyprus Narcissus ; it is the most beautiful of all the 

 varieties when blown in glasses in a room. The Dutch and 

 London catalogues contain about an hundred sub-varieties 

 under these heads, with pompous names, which are too sub- 

 ject to the light breath of fashion and caprice to be enume- 

 rated here. We shall now treat at length of the method of 

 raising the fine sorts of Polyanthus Narcissus from seeds, in 

 order to obtain new varieties. It has been customary to send 

 abroad annually for large quantities of the flower roots, for 

 which a great price has been paid, while we might as well 

 have propagated them from seeds at home. In saving the 

 seeds, none should be gathered but from such flowers as 

 have good properties, and particularly from such only a* 



