Tas. 6843, 
NYMPHA#A srTELtatTa, var. ZANZIBARIENSIS. 
Native of Zanzibar. 
Nat. Ord. Nympnxacexn.—Tribe Nympo mx. 
Genus Nympnxa, Linn.; (Benth. et Hook.f. Gen. Pl. vol. i. p. 46.) 
Nympu2a stellata, var. zanzibariensis ; foliis amplis rotundatis marginibus irregu- 
lariter crenato-lobulatis, floribus amplis saturate azureis, sepalis extus viridibus 
kermesino-marginatis, petalis 18-30 lineari-oblongis obtusis v. subacutis, 
staminibus 130-240, filamentis brevibus latis, antheris elongatis, carpellis 
15-30, apicibus oblongis obtusis incurvis. 
N. zanzibariensis, Caspary in Bot. Zeit. 1877, p. 202, and in Wittmark Gartenzeit. 
1882, p. 1, fig. 1, e¢ Le. pict.; The Garden, 1884, p. 210, cum Ie. 
This splendid Waterlily is the subject of two very ela- 
borate articles by Prof. Caspary, of Konigsberg, who has 
made the genus to which it belongs a life-long study. In 
the first of these, that published in the “ Botanische 
Zeitung,” wherein the species is originally described, he 
contrasts its characters with those of three blue-flowered 
closely allied plants (referred by some botanists, including 
myself, to forms of one species), namely, N. capensis, 
Thunb., NV. cwrulea, Savigny (Plate 552 of this work), and 
N. stellata, Willd. (Plate 2058 of this work), and gives 
the differences between them in parallel columns. The 
result is very interesting and instructive, as showing in 
almost all points of structure, size and number of parts, 
and in many of colour, a gradual passage from N. stellata 
through N. cerulea and N. capensis up to N. zanzibariensis. 
Of these N. stellata is the most reduced form; its largest 
flowers are one-third smaller than those of average zanzi- 
bariensis. The number of its floral organs is on the 
average 73 against 222; of the petals, which are pale blue, 
11 to 14 against 18 to 24 of zanzibariensis, which are deep 
blue; of stamens, 33 to 54 against 136 to 242; of carpels, 
10 to 17 against 15.to 30; its seeds are smaller and paler, 
and its leaves smaller also. In all these matters N. cwrulea 
comes nearest to N. stellata, and N. capensis to N. zanzi- 
bariensis. In some other respects, however, there are 
remarkable differences between the above forms.. Thus, 
Nov. lst, 1885, 
* 
