THE NELUMBIUM. 



THE NELUMBIUM. 



BY J. L. COMSTOCK, HAETFOKD, CONN. 



A FEW weeks since, I received from J. B. Hawkes, Esq., of Louisiana, a small package 

 by mail, on opening which, I found a few seeds of a dark color, resembling small 

 acorns, with the following note : 



" Understanding that you have aa aquarium, I send you a few seeds of the Nelurabium, 

 a plant which is common here, growing in water from a few inches to ten feet in depth. 

 The flower is large, the petals imbricated, and in color like the Chromatella Kose. It has 

 a peculiar but very pleasant ft-agrance. What species of Nelumbium this is, I am not 

 informed." 



Of course I was delighted with such a present, and from an entire stranger, too ; for 

 I had long desired to obtain this plant, being, of all aquatics, next to the Victoria regia 

 in size, species, and country. Of the Nelumbium, only two species are knoAvn — the 

 speciosum and the luteum. The first is found in Egypt, China, Java, Japan, Ceylon, 

 and generally in all the tropical regions of the east. This has a splendid flower, with 

 pink petals. The luteum, the American species, has yellow flowers, as above stated. 



In hot climates, the leaves of this plant are nearly equal to those of the Victoria 

 regia as grown in a cold climate, but in our latitude they seldom exceed two feet m 

 diameter, though in a hot-house they probably might be much enlarged. 



This genus belongs to the natural order Nympha^acece, or the Pond Lily tribe, and 

 our species resembles the well-known beautiful flower the Water Lily, only being 

 nearly ten times as large. In the Linnjean arrangement, this genus belongs to class 

 Polyandria and order Polygenia. The most northern limit of its growth in New Eng- 

 land appears to be the town of Lyme, Conn., where there are several localities of it, 

 not far from Connecticut river; but why that ancient, aristocratic town, should be 

 honored with the growth of this magnificent species, when it does not exist at any 

 other place within hundreds of miles, is a mysterious but not a singular botanical fact. 



The common name of the Nelumbium, among eastern nations, is the Sacred Bean — 

 supposed to be the same as the Egyptian Bean of Pythagorus, and the Lotus of the 

 ancient Egyptians. It is said to have grown in abundance on the banks of the Nile in 

 the days of Alexander, but is said at present to be rare in that country. It was held 

 sacred by the Egyptians, probably because it was employed as food in times of famine. 

 The Romans, we are told, sent to Egypt expressly to obtain the seeds of this plant, but 

 with what success does not appear. The traveler Thunberg says that the Nelumbuim 

 is considered a sacred plant among the Japanese, and that their idols are often repre- 

 sented sitting on one of its great leaves. 



It grows in abundance in the ponds and marshes of China, and in most parts of 

 India, where it is highly esteemed as a luxurious condiment, and sometimes as an arti- 

 cle of diet. Sir George Staunton, in his embassy to China, says that the seeds of the 

 Nelumbium, as well as the roots and stems, are used as food among the high manda- 

 rins, the first being made into a kind of paste, and the other parts cut into thin slices, 

 served up with ice, and some peculiar condiments, making one of the courses 

 esteemed at the meals of that luxurious people. 



