Narcissus and Daffodil

246 O.A. Cherkasov and O.N. Tolkachev
have from two to 15 leaves which are 7 to 80 cm long. Bulb diameters vary from
1cm in Galanthus species to 12 cm in Ungernia. The inflorescences of the majority
of Amaryllidaceae species are borne on leafless stems with between one (Galanthus
sp.) and 25 florets (Ungernia). The florets occur in umbels or corymbs; the perianth
is petalloid with six free or joined segments, there are six stamens in two whorls,
and the fruit is a capsule (Artyushenko, 1970; Kalashnikov, 1970; Khamidkhodzhaev,
1967, 1977). Unlike the other genera, Ixiolirion species have a tuberous storage
organ derived from an enlarged stem base, and the leaves are borne on the aerial
part of the stem.
Collecting galanthamine-containing plants
Because of the need to exploit Amaryllidaceae species which have a limited natural
distribution – some species have been included in the ‘Red Book’ of the USSR and
the Russian Federation (Takhtadjan, 1975, 1981; Borodin, 1978; Golovanov,
1988) – a programme of collection and cultivation of suitable species was started
by the All-Russian Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (VILAR). A comparative
biological and chemical study of the Amaryllidaceae in the flora of Russia and
the adjoining territories was carried out to find species suitable for commercial
exploitation. The collection of plant material was started in 1975. Seeds of Amaryllidaceae
plants were obtained from ‘delectus seminum’ (seed exchanges via air-mail),
while seedling material of narcissus was obtained from commercial flower growers
and from botanical gardens. Specimens from the flora of Russia and the adjoining
territories were collected from their respective regions by expeditions organised
by VILAR and its regional experimental agricultural stations. Some of the experimental
results are given below.
Galanthus woronowii containing up to 0.78% galanthamine was found in Adjaria
in a canyon of the Chakrizkaly river (Patudin et al., 1978). It is distributed in the
area of the Caucasus as far as the Turkish border. However, large-scale cropping
was not practical, because the plant has such a low weight. Another galanthaminecontaining
representative of the family is Leucojum aestivum which grows widely on
the sea-coasts of the Caucasus, occupying a vast area in Colkhida and also in
Ukraine and Moldavia (Transcarpathia). L. aestivum contains tenths or hundredths
parts of one per cent of galanthamine, depending on where it is collected (Cherkasov,
1975). Galanthus nivalis was collected in Ukraine in the Carpathian Mountains,
the basin of the Dnieper River. Leucojum vernum and Narcissus angustifolius were
collected in Ukraine. Ungernia victoris was reported in the region of Uzbekistan
and Tajikistan (Korotkova and Adylov, 1960).
Early in 1975, the collection of galanthamine-containing plants consisted of
seven species and 245 populations and forms, including ten populations of
Galanthus woronowii, two of G. nivalis, ten of Leucojum vernum, 48 of L. aestivum, four
of Ungernia victoris and 163 of Narcissus (including 115 varieties; see below)
(Cherkasov et al., 1984b; Kiselev et al., 1977).
Species suitable for commercial exploitation
During studies on the species mentioned above, the concentration of galanthamine
was the main factor taken into consideration. Also considered was