Sometimes Latin roots take you on fascinating routes that expand knowledge in the same way that any kind of travel might. This route began with curiosity about why the paper white, Narcissus papyraceus, was also called a joss flower. What's a joss flower, and why in China is 'paper white' grown in pots to religiously celebrate the new year?
Joss is Pidgin Chinese for the Latin deus or the Spanish dios and describes a Chinese sacred lily. A joss house is a Chinese temple or house of worship. A joss stick is a reed covered with a resinous paste made from ground odoriferous wood and burned as incense in worship.
The paper white plant grows from a bulb, which is the resting stage of the plant, containing food for its future growth. When given proper water and warm temperature, the dormant bulb first produces a set of white roots, which penetrate the soil, and then green, strap-shaped leaves emerge from the top of the bulb. The inflorescence consists of about fifteen star-like, pure white blossoms having six triangular petals. At the center of each blossom is a delicate, frilly corona (a Latin word for crown). The corona is actually an outgrowth of the petals, and the closely related daffodil also manifests a very large trumpet-like, frilly yellow corona.
The genus Narcissus, which is native to the Europe, takes its name from the legend of Narcissus, but because that mythology is all Greek, we need not follow that fascinating route today.
JULIE RASKOFF, MEMBG Docent