1056 



NANDINA 



NARCISSUS 



1455. Narcissi. 



a a, N. Pseudo-Narcissus; fc, N. Jonquilla; c, N. poeticus. 



colored and the sepals more numerous. There are about 6 

 petals, but the numerous sepals gradually pass into petals, 

 the outer ones being small, green and leathery, the inner 

 larger and whiter. Ovules 2, ascending from the base. 



domSstica, Thunb. Described above. Lfts. entire. 

 Japan and China. B.M. 1109. Gn. 23, p. 329; 58, p. 13. 



W. M. 



Nandina domestica is an old favorite in S. Calif., 

 and many fair-sized specimens may be seen, though 8 

 ft. high is the largest the writer can call to mind now. 

 Of late years the sale of Nandina has been very slight, 

 as it is not very desirable, except for its general effect 

 as a shrub, and it takes some years to make a show. 

 Many faster growers and better bloomers have taken 

 its place. It does not produce sufficient foliage; the 

 stem is always bare, leaving an indistinct whorl of Ivs. 

 at the extreme top. The fls. are inconspicuous. It is of 

 easy culture, and does best in a position shaded from 

 the sun during the hotter part of the day. It stools 

 very freely, and for this reason is somewhat used in 

 shrubberies, where its otherwise naked stems would 

 render it valueless. ERNEST BRAUNTON. 



NAPOLEON A (after Napoleon Bonaparte). Myrtct- 

 cece. Napoleona imperialis is a truly imperial plant, 

 and worthy of being named after the distinguished 

 military leader. It is a tropical African tree, with 

 flowers that at once suggest a royal crown. They look 

 something like a gorgeous passion flower, with equally 

 rich though different coloring, and the same simpli- 

 city and symmetry of design expressed in the same 

 rich multiplicity of detail. They are shaped like a 

 saucer, about 2 inches in diameter, and the dominant 

 color is apricot. Inside the saucer are two crowns, one 

 within the other, the inner one smaller. The rim of 

 the saucer is broken up into about 35 blunt teeth, all 

 regular and formal, each one with a plait running down 

 the back to the center of the saucer, and each tooth mi- 

 nutely serrate around its margin. In the bottom of the 

 saucer is a circular fringe of green threads, all of equal 

 length and fineness, springing from the base of the 

 larger crown. This fringe is displayed against a rich, 

 dark red background, which imitates in outline the 

 toothed rim of the saucer, and colors perhaps three- 

 fourths of the bottom of the saucer. In the Flora of 

 Tropical Africa the fls. are said to be red, white or blue. 

 Elsewhere it is stated that the fls. turn bluish as they 

 decay. This interesting tree seems never to have been 

 offered in America, but is probably procurable from 

 Europe. B.M. 4387. G.C. 1844:780. R.H. 1853, p. 301. 



NARCISSUS (old name, thought by some to be de- 

 rived from the story of the youth Narcissus, and by 

 others from the Greek word for narcotic, in allusion to 

 the narcotic-poisonous properties of the plant ). Ama- 

 ryllidacew. Plate XX. Figs. 1455-1462. Narcissi are 

 amongst the choicest of hardy spring-flowering plants. 

 They have long been favorites. In recent years some of 

 the species have come into prominence as subjects for 

 winter forcing. Baker, in his Handbook of the Amaryl- 

 lideae, 1888, reduces the species to 16, but garden au- 

 thors usually recognize thrice that many. They are 

 mostly native to southwestern Europe and the Medi- 

 terranean region. The peculiar characteristic of the 

 Narcissi is the conspicuous crown or short tube in the 

 throat of the corolla, with which the stamens are not 

 united. The flowers (Fig. 1456) have 6 spreading seg- 

 ments, 3 of which are exterior; stamens 6, attached to the 

 corolla-tube; fls. single or several from a dry spathe, 

 usually standing at an angle on the pedicels : bulbs tuni- 

 cated, the outer scales dark-colored : fr. a thin dehis- 

 cing capsule, containing nearly globular or angular seeds : 

 Ivs. linear or even awl-like, appearing with the flowers. 

 Narcissi are spring-blooming bulbs, most of them per- 

 fectly hardy in the northern states and capable of being 

 naturalized in cool and grassy places. Some 'of the 

 species are popular bulbs for winter forcing. The genus 

 includes the Daffodils (Daffy-down-dillies) and Jonquils. 

 There are autumn-flowering species, but they are little 

 known to cultivators. These autumn bloomers are of 3 

 species : JV. viridiflorus, Schousb., fls. green throughout, 

 Ivs. nearly terete and usually not appearing with the fls. ; 

 N. serotinus, Linn., pure white with yellow corona, the 

 Ivs. nearly terete and appear- 

 ing after the fls. ; N. elegans, 

 Spach, greenish white with 

 yellow corona, the Ivs. ap- 

 pearing with the fls. Many 

 of the garden Narcissi are 

 hybrids. Some students sup- 

 pose that some of the 



1456. Narcissus incomparabilis. 



Corona shorter than usual, a shows the corona; c, the 

 ovary; &, the spathe. Natural size. 



