Nargis Flower (Narcissus): In English, Season, and the Onion Mix-Up
Nargis flower is narcissus in English: the small white and yellow winter flower sold in bunches on Lahore and Delhi roadsides, and the yellow daffodil in its larger form. Every part of the plant is poisonous, the bulb most of all, and it has been eaten by mistake for an onion more than once. So before the season, the scent and the poetry, the safety part comes first.
The short version
- English: narcissus; the yellow trumpet kind is a daffodil
- Urdu/Hindi: nargis, gul-e-nargis; Arabic: narjis; Persian: nargis
- Scientific name: Narcissus tazetta L. for the fragrant desi nargis (family Amaryllidaceae); Narcissus pseudonarcissus for the yellow daffodil, sometimes called pila nargis
- Season: late winter to early spring in Pakistan and north India
- Safety flag: HIGH. Poisonous if eaten, bulb worst; sap irritates skin
- Not for: tea, face packs, home oils, or anywhere children and pets can reach the bulbs
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What is nargis, and why does the bulb matter so much?
Narcissus is a bulb plant, and the bulb looks like a small onion: layered, papery skinned, pale. Through it, and through the leaves, stem, flower and sap, run a family of alkaloids, the best known being lycorine, which makes people vomit and is concentrated most in the bulb, the part most likely to end up in a kitchen by mistake. The sap also carries needle shaped crystals of calcium oxalate. Those are why florists get “daffodil itch”. A 2023 dermatology review in Cutis calls daffodils the most common cause of irritant contact dermatitis among florists.
Put the two facts together and every “nargis benefits for skin” video falls apart. Sore florist hands, rubbed on a face.
Nargis poisoning: how it happens
Three true cases. One plot.
- In February 2010, ten schoolchildren aged 10 and 11 and their guide reached an emergency department in northern Israel after eating Narcissus tazetta bulbs they had taken for garden onions; eight were vomiting within half an hour, all were given fluids, watched for four hours and sent home well.
- A Japanese family did the same with daffodil bulbs in 2020, with the case written up in Acute Medicine and Surgery under the title “A family intoxicated by daffodil bulbs mistaken for onions”.
- Poison centres describe the pattern as routine: nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhoea beginning soon after eating, lasting a few hours, with low blood pressure and drowsiness in heavier exposures.
The onion mix up is the thread. A narcissus bulb has no onion smell and doesn’t make your eyes water when cut, which is the one quick way to tell them apart. Nobody plans to eat one. It happens when bulbs sit near food or get dug up from a vegetable patch.
The one habit that prevents most nargis poisonings
Keep bulbs out of the kitchen. Full stop. If you buy nargis or daffodil bulbs to plant, label the bag “NARGIS, NOT ONION, POISONOUS” in the language your household reads, store it in the shed or on a high shelf, plant it the same week, and never put bulbs in the onion or garlic row of a vegetable bed. The onion confusion is the commonest route into hospital for this plant. A label costs nothing.
What happens if someone eats nargis?
- Wipe out the mouth and give a few sips of water. Don’t make the person vomit; the plant will usually do that by itself within 30 minutes.
- Call a doctor or go to the emergency department if a child has eaten any amount of bulb, if an adult has eaten more than a taste, or if there’s repeated vomiting, drowsiness, a fast or weak pulse, or trouble swallowing.
- Take the plant or the bulb with you, or a photo of it, so the team knows what they’re dealing with.
- Watch for dehydration after the vomiting stops: no urine for 6 to 8 hours, a dry mouth, or a floppy, very sleepy child means hospital, not waiting.
- Sap on skin: soap and running water for 2 minutes. In the eye: rinse under gently running water for 15 minutes, then a doctor if it still stings.
Our first ten minutes after a child swallows something guide covers the general steps, and the poisonous plants for kids and pets post lists the other garden plants in the same category. Pets too. Dogs and cats that dig up bulbs are regular spring visitors to vet clinics.
Nargis in Unani history: described, not recommended
Classical Unani and Persian texts list narcissus (narjis) as hot and dry, and describe external uses: the crushed bulb as a poultice drawing out boils and splinters, the root in plasters for aching joints, the scent against headaches and “coldness” of the brain. Internal use was recognised even then as an emetic, the polite word for a poison that makes you vomit.
Worth knowing, not worth copying. The poultice uses put lycorine and oxalate crystals on broken skin, modern practice has safer ways to deal with a boil or a splinter, and no hakeem working today should be handing out a narcissus paste. A page that tells you to make nargis oil or a nargis face pack at home? Close it.
Nargis fragrance, and why “nargis oil” at a pansari isn’t
Narcissus is one of perfumery’s precious materials. Flowers are solvent extracted into an absolute, a thick dark liquid with a green, hay and honey smell under the floral top, and the yield is tiny: one supplier’s technical note for an IFF-LMR narcissus absolute gives roughly 3,200 kg of flowers for 1 kg of absolute and lists it at about $21 for a single gram, while perfumers’ reference pages describe it as much more costly than rose or jasmine absolute. There is no cheap steam distilled version. The flower doesn’t give one.
So a 30 ml bottle of “nargis oil” sold for a few hundred rupees is a synthetic fragrance in a carrier oil, or a carrier oil in which a few flowers were steeped. Neither is narcissus absolute, and neither should go near skin without the basic real vs fake checks you’d give any perfume and a 48 hour patch test on the inner arm. If you simply love the smell, buy the flowers. A bunch in a glass fills a room and poisons nobody, as long as it stays out of mouths.
Season and pot care, briefly
Desi nargis (Narcissus tazetta) flowers in the cold months, roughly December to February on the plains of Pakistan and north India, earlier in warm years and later in the hills; daffodils follow in late winter and spring in cooler places like Quetta, Murree and the Kashmir valleys. Roadside bunches are the signal.
- Plant bulbs in autumn, 10 to 15 cm deep, in gritty soil in a pot with drainage holes. Water once, then only when the top of the soil is dry.
- Full winter sun. Shade on warm afternoons makes flowers last.
- After flowering, let the leaves yellow naturally to feed next year’s bulb, then lift, dry and store the bulbs, labelled, away from food.
- Gloves for bulbs and stems. Wash hands before touching your face or food.
Every part of narcissus is poisonous if swallowed, and the bulb is the worst. Keep bulbs and cut flowers away from children, who put things in their mouths, and from cats and dogs. Don’t drink the vase water or let a pet drink it. Never make tea, sharbat, face packs, ubtan or home oil from any part of the plant. The sap causes rashes and cracked skin on repeated contact, so wear gloves; if you already have eczema or broken skin, don’t handle it at all. There are no safe doses of nargis for internal use, in pregnancy or at any other time, and no Unani product sold legally should contain it for swallowing. Vomiting, stomach cramps or drowsiness after handling or eating any bulb from the garden means a doctor today, with the plant in hand. If a child is involved, go straight to the emergency department.
Nargis questions people search
Nargis flower in English?
Narcissus. The small fragrant white kind with an orange or yellow centre is Narcissus tazetta; the big yellow trumpet is a daffodil, Narcissus pseudonarcissus, sometimes called pila nargis in Urdu.
What is nargis flower used for?
Today, as a cut flower, a garden plant and a very expensive perfume material. Historically Unani texts describe external poultices from the bulb, but those are history, not advice, because the whole plant is poisonous and the sap irritates skin.
Is nargis poisonous?
Yes, every part, and the bulb most. The alkaloid lycorine causes vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhoea, and the sap’s calcium oxalate crystals cause rashes. Children and pets are most at risk because the bulb looks like an onion.
Nargis flower benefits for skin: is it safe?
No. Narcissus sap is the most common cause of irritant contact dermatitis in florists, so a nargis face pack or oil puts a known skin irritant on your face. Enjoy the scent from a vase instead.
Can nargis bulbs be mistaken for onions?
They can, and it’s the usual way people get poisoned. Reported cases include ten schoolchildren in Israel in 2010 and a family in Japan in 2020. A narcissus bulb has no onion smell and doesn’t make your eyes water, which is the quick tell.
Nargis flower season in Pakistan and India?
Roughly December to February on the plains for the fragrant desi nargis, with daffodils following in late winter and spring in cooler, hilly areas. Warm years bring it earlier.
Nargis flower oil price in Pakistan: is it real?
Real narcissus absolute is a perfumer’s luxury, priced by the gram at well above rose absolute, so a cheap bottle labelled nargis oil at a pansari or online is a fragrance or steeped carrier oil, not the real extract. Patch test any scented oil before using it.
What should I do if my child eats a nargis bulb?
Wipe the mouth, give a few sips of water, don’t force vomiting, and get to a doctor or emergency department with the bulb or a photo. Vomiting usually starts within half an hour; watch for drowsiness and signs of dehydration afterwards.
Why do my hands itch after arranging nargis?
That’s daffodil itch, an irritant reaction to calcium oxalate crystals in the sap, common in florists. Wash with soap and water, moisturise, and wear gloves next time. A rash that blisters or spreads needs a doctor.
Bottom line
Nargis is narcissus: a beautiful winter flower and a genuine poison. Known: lycorine and oxalate crystals run through the whole plant, the bulb has been eaten as an onion by children and families, and the sap gives florists sore hands. Tradition: external poultices, as history. Uncertain: very little. The main safety issue is the bulb in the wrong drawer, and a label fixes it. For other garden plants in the same class, the Desi Remedies hub links our full list.
Sources
- Hussein A, Yassin A. Poisoning following ingestion of Narcissus tazetta bulbs by schoolchildren. IMAJ 2014;16:125 to 126
- Ageta K et al. A family intoxicated by daffodil bulbs mistaken for onions. Acute Medicine & Surgery, 2020 (doi 10.1002/ams2.595)
- Lee KP, Elston DM. Botanical Briefs: Daffodils (Narcissus species). Cutis, 2023
- National Capital Poison Center: Daffodils, beautiful but potentially toxic
- Perfumer’s Supply House: Narcisse Abs P&N (IFF-LMR), yield and price per gram
- Marina Barcenilla Parfums: Narcissus absolute, extraction and cost relative to rose and jasmine