408 



ELEMENTARY STUDIES IN BOTANY 



" doubled " flowers of various colors, with the flowers some- 

 times in a compact ball, at other times more loosely disposed. 

 It is said that the chrysanthemum stands fourth in the list 

 of commercial flowers in the United States, although its 

 season is only about six weeks long. 



116. Narcissus. This is a genus of the amaryllis family, 

 which includes some of the most attractive of the very early 

 home-garden flowers. They are known in general as daffo- 

 dils and jonquils, and are familiar to 

 every one. The flowers are charac- 

 terized by having a " crown " aris- 

 ing from the top of the tubular, 

 six-lobed perianth. The daffodils 

 have large yellow flowers, with a 

 crown as long as the lobes of the 

 flower or longer and with a more or 

 less crisped margin (Fig. 73) ; while 

 the jonquils have small yellow and 

 fragrant flowers, with a crown less 

 than half the length of the flower 

 lobes. The " poet's Narcissus," 

 often cultivated and seen at flor- 

 ists, is like the jonquil, except that 

 the fragrant flowers are white and 

 the short crown is edged with pink. 



These plants are hardy and easily cared for, so that no 

 garden should be without them. They thrive in good soil, 

 and they develop so early that moisture is usually plentiful. 

 About the only caution necessary is to be careful that no 

 manure touches the bulbs. The bulbs are planted, late in 

 summer or early in the autumn, six to eight inches deep and 

 three inches apart, and remain until strong groups are formed. 

 These groups can occupy the same place for a series of years, 

 and early each spring the flowers begin to appear. These 

 narcissus forms are also especially adapted for house plants, 



FIG. 73. A daffodil. 



