210 BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 
Horticultural Society of this city (a gentleman to whom my 
warmest acknowledgments are due for his repeated acts of kind- 
ness during my stay in Philadelphia), to the station for the rare 
and curious Nelumbium luteum, which grows abundantly in some 
of the ditches that divide the low pasture-fields near the Delaware, 
on the south-east side of the town beyond the Navy-yard, and which 
greatly resemble the marshy meadows along the Thames at Battersea 
or Woolwich. The Nedumbium is here associated with abundance 
of gigantic Pontederia cordata, Sagittaria sagittefolia, var. lati- 
folia, Sparganium (Americanum ?), Zizania aquatica, Isnardia 
palustris, and other water-plants, and was at this time partly in 
flower, and partly in unripe but fully-formed fruit. The species 
makes a fine appearance with its large, truly peltate leaves eighteen 
inches or two feet in diameter, some floating on the water, others 
elevated a foot or more above the surface on long petioles. The 
flowers, which are also raised above the water on still longer eylin- 
drical peduncles, are as large or larger than those of Nymphaea 
alba, of a delicate, pale lemon-yellow, and apparently very fuga- 
cious. I procured, by means of a negro man, who waded after 
them, one half-opened flower, a few buds ready to expand, (which 
I could not succeed in making them do afterwards by placing them 
in water, through the falling away of the petals,) and as many of 
the enlarged obconic, spungy tori or receptacles, like huge poppy 
heads, in whose flat truncate disks the seeds or nuts are almost 
wholly imbedded. These, which are esculent and ripen here m 
September, are collected by the boys and sold in the streets, and — 
markets of Philadelphia, under the name of Water Obinquapin 3 
from the resemblance in flavour, and somewhat in shape to the —— 
fruit of the Chinquapin or Dwarf Chestnut, Castanea pumila, which 
first makes its appearance in the parallel of Philadelphia. A tra- 
dition is still current of the Nelumbium having been planted by 
some botanist of former times in its present situation, but no 
credit seems due to the obscure report, when we consider that the 2: 
species is now ascertained to inhabit various parts of the United — 
States as far north as Lake Ontario, and though the station (marsh | : 
ditches) is so far an artificial habitat, we know that such recep- - 
