Narcissus tazetta
Encyclopedia
Narcissus tazetta is a perennial
ornamental plant
that grows from a bulb
.
The Chinese sacred lily is neither sacred nor a lily. In the Romanized form of written Mandarin it is called shui xian hua (水仙花) which can be translated as water goddess flower. The botanical designation is Narcissus tazetta v. chinensis, or Ruen.
Its fragrance is quite different from that of its distant cousin, the paperwhite narcissus
which has an animal scent to many people.
Special topiary carving techniques can be used to form leaves and flowers into fanciful shapes. The flower is an important element in the Chinese lunar new year celebration, and is sold at flower markets before the Chinese New Year. It is believed to be good luck to have the flower bloom on the first day of the Chinese lunar new year spring festival.
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
ornamental plant
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
that grows from a bulb
Bulb
A bulb is a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases. The leaves often function as food storage organs during dormancy.A bulb's leaf bases, known as scales, generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. At the center of the bulb is...
.
The Chinese sacred lily is neither sacred nor a lily. In the Romanized form of written Mandarin it is called shui xian hua (水仙花) which can be translated as water goddess flower. The botanical designation is Narcissus tazetta v. chinensis, or Ruen.
Its fragrance is quite different from that of its distant cousin, the paperwhite narcissus
Narcissus papyraceus
Narcissus papyraceus , commonly known as Paperwhite, is a perennial bulbous plant native to the Mediterranean region. The white flowers are borne in bunches and are strongly fragrant...
which has an animal scent to many people.
Special topiary carving techniques can be used to form leaves and flowers into fanciful shapes. The flower is an important element in the Chinese lunar new year celebration, and is sold at flower markets before the Chinese New Year. It is believed to be good luck to have the flower bloom on the first day of the Chinese lunar new year spring festival.