172 NYMPHAEACEAE 



1-A dm. long, minutely glandular-pubescent. Leaves subulate, 10-15 mm. long, ciliate near the 



base; flowers solitary in the axils of all but the lowest leaves ; calyx-tube terete, 10-12 mm. long, 



1 mm. thick, teeth subulate, scarcely 2 mm. long; blades of the petals narrow, 2-3 mm. long, 



purple-tipped ; capsule very slender, not distending the calyx-tube. 



Dry ridges, Upper Sonoran and Arid Transition Zones; locally established in Humboldt, Stanislaus, Eldo- 

 rado, and Tuolumne Counties, California. Native of southern Europe. May— June. 



Family 44. NYMPHAEACEAE. 

 Water Lily Family. 



Perennial, acaulescent, aquatic herbs, with horizontal, often tuberous rootstocks 

 and peltate or cordate, floating or submersed leaves. Flowers solitary in the axils, 

 peduncled. Sepals 3 to many, often petaloid. Petals 3 to many, sometimes stamen- 

 like. Stamens 3 to many, hypogynous, filaments usually broad. Carpels 2 to many, 

 distinct or united into a compound ovary. Ovules 2 to many, orthotropous or anatro- 

 pous ; endosperm present or absent ; cotyledons thick. Fruit coriaceous, or a firm- 

 rind berry. 



A family of 8 genera and about SO species, of wide geographical distribution, inhabiting fresh water. 



Leaves peltate; sepals and petals 3 each; carpels distinct. 1. Brasenia. 



Leaves with a narrow sinus; sepals 5-12; petals numerous, stamen-like; carpels united into a compound 

 ovary. 2. Nymphaea. 



1. BRASENIA Schreb. Gen. PI. 372. 1789. 



Stems slender, the surfaces of these, petioles, lower side of leaf and peduncles covered 

 with gelatinous matter. Leaves alternate, centrally peltate, long-petioled, floating. Flowers 

 purple. Sepals and petals 3 each. Stamens 12—18 ; filaments filiform; anthers extrorse. 

 Carpels 4-18, separate; ovules 1-2, pendulous on the dorsal suture. Fruiting carpels 

 separate, indehiscent, coriaceous. Seeds with fleshy endosperm. [Origin of name un- 

 explained.] 



A monotypic genus of wide distribution. 



1. Brasenia Schreberi J. F. Gmelin. Water-shield. Fig. 1758. 



Brasenia Schreberi J. F. Gmelin, Syst. Veg. 1: 853. 1796. 



Hydropeltis purpurea Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer. 1 : 324. pi. 29. 1803. 



Brasenia peltata Pursh, Fl. Amer. Sept. 389. 1814. 



Brasenia purpurea Casp. in Engler & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenf. 3: Abt. 2, 6. 1890. 



Stems arising from slender rootstocks. Leaves broadly oval, rounded at both ends, 5-10 

 cm. long, entire, thick; sepals and petals 10-15 mm. long, linear-oblong; fruiting carpels oblong, 

 6-8 mm. long. 



Ponds and slow streams, Boreal and Austral Zones; widely distributed over North America, tropical Asia, 

 Australia and western Africa. In the Pacific States, locally distributed from British Columbia to central 

 California. Type locality: none given. June- Aug. 



2. NYMPHAEA [Tourn.] L. Sp. PI. 510. 1753. 



Aquatic herbs with cylindric rootstocks. Leaves large, cordate with a deep narrow 

 sinus. Flowers long-peduncled, showy, yellow or purple. Sepals 5-12, concave, thick, 

 persisting until decayed. Petals many, stamen-like. Stamens many, hypogynous ; anthers 

 introrse ; filaments broad. Carpels united in a compound ovary ; stigmas many, radiate as 

 in Papaver; ovules numerous on the ovary walls. Fruit baccate with a firm thick rind; 

 seeds numerous, with endosperm. [Name Greek, water-nymph.] 



A genus of about 8 species, natives of the north temperate zone. Type species, Nymphaea lutea L. 



1. Nymphaea polysepala (Engelm.) Greene. Indian Pond Lily or Wokas. 



Fig. 1759. 



Nuphar polysepalum Engelm. Trans. St. Louis Acad. 2: 282. 1865. 

 Nymphaea polysepala Greene, Bull. Torrey Club 15: 84. 1888. 



Leaves long-petioled, floating or sometimes raised above the surface, broadly oval, 15-45 cm. 

 long; sepals 6-12, yellow, often tinged with red, rounded and concave, 2-2.5 cm. long: petals 

 12-18, narrowly cuneate, mostly concealed by the numerous stamens; anthers reddish; stigma 

 15-25-rayed; fruit ovoid, about 3.5 cm. in diameter, with a constricted neck and convex disk. 



Ponds and slow streams, Boreal and Transition Zones; Alaska to Mariposa and San Luis Obispo Counties, 

 California, east to the Black Hills, South Dakota, and Colorado. Type locality: sources of the Platte, near 

 Long's Peak, Colorado. April-Sept. 



