Common name: jonquil, daffodil, narcissus, bunchflower daffodil, cream narcissus, Polyanthus narcissus
Narcissus tazetta L. APNI* Description: Clump-forming bulbous herb; bulb to 5 cm diam.
Leaves flat, 8–15 mm wide, glaucous.
Inflorescence of 3–15 small flowers on unequal pedicels; flowers usually oblique, strongly fragrant; perianth white or yellow, 2–4 cm diameter, tube 1–2 cm long, lobes spreading; corona cup-shaped, yellow or orange, 3–5 mm deep. Stamens unequal, 3 included within perianth tube, 3 longer stamens and style exserted into mouth of corona.
Flowering: Winter to spring.
Distribution and occurrence: Recorded as naturalised sporadically. Commonly cultivated (usually cultivars or hybrids) in cooler regions; often persistent in abandoned gardens; rarely really naturalised. Native to Mediterranean region and SW Asia.
NSW subdivisions: *CC, *NWS, *CWS, *LHI
Other Australian states: *W.A. *S.A.
This fragrant, multi-flowered species can hybridise with N. papyraceus, the 'Paper-white narcissus'; the sterile triploid hybrid between these two is called N. tazetta subsp. italicus. It also hybridises with N. jonquilla. What we call jonquils here seem to be cultivars and hybrids involving mixtures of these three species.
Text by KL Wilson (Aug 2013) Taxon concept:
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data ***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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