Narcissus, the flower of legends

08/20/07 23:56:26

Narcissus is a botanical name for the sort of springtime bulbous plant of amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. There are around 26 of wild and several hundreds of cultivated variances, and although it is mainly considered to be a spring-time flower, some sorts bloom in autumn. Sorts are different by color, shape and size. The flower can be yellow or white, but also combined white and yellow, orange, red, and pink. The flowers, growing on a strong stalk, can be star-shaped or trumpet shaped, simple or multi-flowered. The leaves are long and light-green.

The cultivated varieties are roughly divided into three categories, based on their general characteristics. Those are: a Daffodil with four to six flattened, grass-like leaves, and its flower stalk bears a single flower with a long, trumpet like corona; a jonquil, with two to four narrow, cylindrical, rush-like leaves, and its flower stalk bears two to six relatively small flowers with short coronas; and narcissus, similar to Daffodil, but its flattened flower stalk bears four to eight flowers with short coronas. Narcissus is very resistant, and almost all sorts can survive the winter without problems, and therefore once planted bulb can grow flowers for years.

Narcissus originates from South-West Europe and North Africa, but some sorts can be found in Central Asia and China, and some sources claim that narcissus originated from Persia, and was brought to China in the 8th century by the traders traveling on the Silk Route.

Some legends say that this flower was named after Narcissus, a character from Greek mythology, who lived in Greek city of Thespiae in Boeotia. According to some legends, he was a beautiful son of the river god Cephisus and the nymph Liriope, and according to others, he was a son of King Endymion, the establisher of Greek city Elis, and Selene, the Moon.

One of many stories of Narcissus says that he was so distinguished by his beauty that everyone who saw him instantly fell in love with him. He was callous, though, and could not fall in love. When he was sixteen, a nymph named Echo saw him while he was deer hunting, and fell in love with him at that instant. He rejected her and broke her heart. Echo asked Nemesis, the goddess of just punishment, to punish Narcissus so that he suffers from unrequited love as well. Nemesis did that, and one day, when he, tired and thirsty, knelt by a pond to drink some water, he saw his own reflection on the surface and fell in love. The love was not returned to him, so crashed by the sorrow he died beside the pond. Searching for him, people found only a flower on that spot – narcissus.

Another story of narcissus says that it was created by gods in order to entice Demeter’s daughter Persephone away from her friends, nymphs, with whom she was picking flowers, thus to enable Hades, the god of underworld, to abduct her and take her as his wife.

It is more probable, though, that the name narcissus was derived from the Greek word ‘narke’, later adopted by Romans as ‘narce’, meaning ‘to be numb’, what referred to narcotic effects of narcissus, which can be overwhelming.

Narcissus was used from the ancient of times for various purposes. Romans were using narcissus unguent for creation of fragrance called Narcissinum. Arabs used it in their perfumery, as well as to cure baldness. In India, the oil of narcissus, as well as fragrant oils of sandal, jasmine, and rose, is applied to body before prayer. In France it was used for treating epilepsy and hysteria. It was used in cosmetics as an additive to powders, soaps and lipsticks. In China narcissus is associated with good fortune and gain. And today narcissus is a symbol of awaking and hope.

The scent of narcissus oil is strong and rich; it reminds of smell of dark green leaves with traces of hyacinth and jasmine. The oil is extracted by enfleurage (technique of extraction of fragrant components by oil). Nowadays it is also extracted by volatile solvents, a technique that produces both concrete and absolute. It takes 500 kilograms of flowers to produce 1 kilogram of concrete, or 300 grams of absolute, what makes narcissus oil expensive. Today, the major quantities of narcissus essential oil are produced in the Netherlands and in the Grasse region of France.

The essential oil of narcissus is rather strong and heady, and may influence the nervous system. It calms nerves and helps release stress and tension. Still, it requires careful handling, because higher doses of narcissus oil can cause headache and vomiting. Also, allergic reactions to narcissus oil have been reported.

The oil is extracted from several variances of flowers: Narcissus poeticus, Narcissus tazetta and Narcissus jonquill. Sorts that bloom in May, among which the most important and quite rare variance is Narcissus poeticus, are used for production of essential oil for perfume industry.

Narcissus oil can be found in perfumes of many renowned perfume houses such as Gucci Rush 2, Lancome Climat, Guerlain Samsara, Too Much? Guerlain, Chloe Narcisse, Chloe Fleur de Narcisse. Among them is L’Artisan’s Fleur de Narcisse, created of narcissus flowers collected on 6th and 7th of June 2005 in Lozère, South France – a limited edition of only 3000 bottles.

Author: noor_jehan
Fragrantica Member

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