Narcissus (Daffodil) Phototropism, Applications to Alzheimer's Drug Development (original) (raw)

Nomenclatural notes on some autumn flowering daffodils (Narcissus, Amaryllidaceae)

Phytotaxa, 2017

Autumn flowering daffodils have been recorded in taxonomic history for at least 500 years. First descriptions were often merely based on hearsay, as they were often not studied alive. Consequently, many errors in interpretation of these names have occurred and taxonomic confusion, errors in identification and misapplication of names have led to an accumulation of taxonomic entanglement in Narcissus Linnaeus (1753: 289) nomenclature. In this paper we address some of these past confusions and provide a key to identify autumn flowering species.

The Image of Daffodil in Art and Botanical Illustration: Clues to the History of Domestication and Selection of Narcissus subgenus Ajax (Amaryllidaceae)

The "Ajax Group" (i.e. Pseudonarcissus) is one of the most important ancestors of modern daffodils cultivars. The manner in which these plants were introduced into the English, French and Dutch gardens appears relatively obscure since most are endemic to the Iberian Peninsula. This chapter compares data from Arab texts of agriculture, European Renaissance, and Prelinnaean texts and illustrations, with the morphological characteristics of primitive cultivars of trumpet daffodils and the related wild taxa from of Spain and Portugal. The relationships among wild plants, domesticated plants, and primitive cultivars were investigated through a cluster analysis of the characters available from figures or botanical illustrations. The tree resulting from the Complete linkage analysis and UPGMA analysis distinguished 26 different groups including wild; cultivated and wild; and cultivated daffodils. A comparison of early descriptions, localities, and illustrations with currently wil...

Jumping through the hoops: the challenges of daffodil (Narcissus) classification

Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2019

Hoop-petticoat daffodils are a morphologically congruent group comprised of two distinct lineages in molecular phylogenetic trees of Narcissus. It is possible that the morphological similarity is a product of both historic and current low-level gene flow between these lineages. For the first time, we report population sampling from across the entire range of distribution covering the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco. In total, 455 samples were collected from 59 populations. Plastid DNA sequences of matK and ndhF were generated alongside 11 microsatellite loci to permit comparison between plastid and nuclear lineage histories. The plastid DNA phylogenetic tree was highly congruent with previous molecular studies and supported the recognition of these two lineages of hoop-petticoat daffodils as separate sections. Assignment of samples to sections sometimes differed between plastid DNA and (nuclear) microsatellite data. In these cases, the taxa had previously been the focus of dissent in ...

Phenotypic integration in style dimorphic daffodils (Narcissus, Amaryllidaceae) with different pollinators

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2014

Different pollinators can exert different selective pressures on floral traits, depending on how they fit with flowers, which should be reflected in the patterns of variation and covariation of traits. Surprisingly, empirical evidence in support of this view is scarce. Here, we have studied whether the variation observed in floral phenotypic integration and covariation of traits in Narcissus species is associated with different groups of pollinators. Phenotypic integration was studied in two style dimorphic species, both with dimorphic populations mostly visited by long-tongued pollinators (close fit with flowers), and monomorphic populations visited by short-tongued insects (loose fit). For N. papyraceus, the patterns of variation and correlation among traits involved in different functions (attraction and fit with pollinators, transfer of pollen) were compared within and between population types. The genetic diversity of populations was also studied to control for possible effects...