The outer fleshy leaf dries to form a papery tunic which helps protect the bulb from dehydration. The flower has already formed within the bulb, but will not grow upward until it has a winter period to break its dormancy and initiate stem elongation. Roots appear soon after planting the bulb. Daffodils form offsets readily. They are propagated by separating and replanting.
Daffodils live a long time.
They will grow and multiply in the same site for decades. In fact, it is not uncommon to be able to identify old, abandoned house sites by the drifts of daffodils that live there after all traces of buildings are gone. The hyacinth forms its flower buds in the summer, but they do not grow upward and expand until they receive a cold treatment. Note the basal plate and the lack of roots. Hyacinth bulb with bulblets.