Narcisso verde
A plant of the Amaryllidaceae family. It was first described by the Danish botanist and explorer Peder Kofod Anker Schousboe, who discovered the species in northern Morocco after an expedition to Spain between 1791 and 1793. The species was formally published by Schousboe in 1800, in the scientific work documenting his expedition. This publication includes a detailed Latin description of the plant, accompanied by a beautiful plate illustrating it.
Distribution
This species is found in a relatively extensive area in the southern part of the province of Cádiz, near the Strait of Gibraltar, as well as in northern of Africa, in Morocco.
Habitat
Narcissus viridiflorus grows in open cork oak groves, heathland and even on fixed dunes, at elevations ranging from sea level to 250 metres. It thrives in a Mediterranean climate, though it prefers cooler conditions. The plant favour basic soils but can also tolerate coastal sands prone to winter waterlogging. It flowers in autumn, with its fruiting period extends until January of the following year.
Conservation
There is limited information on the populations of this species, which are concentrated in three main areas within the Spanish region of the Strait of Gibraltar: Chiclana de la Frontera, Los Barrios, and Alcalá de los Gazules. At least two additional populations have been identified in northern Morocco, in Tangiers and Tazroute. Since 2008, the Regional Government of Andalucía has been monitoring these populations and collecting seeds for conservation in germplasm banks. The main threats to the species are habitat loss due to agricultural expansion and urban development.
Image descriptions
The optical microscope image shows a subspherical seed, approximately 2.5 millimetres in diameter, with a smooth, shiny black coat. In this image, the seed is slightly wrinkled due to dehydration.