CHAP. I.] NYMPH^ACEiE. 257 



placed, springing from the base of the vase-like 

 pistil, and not from the upper part. There are from 

 sixteen to twenty carpels enclosed in the dilated 

 receptacle, to which the stigmas form a ray- 

 hke cover ; and each carpel contains several 

 seeds. The leaves are somewhat cordate, and 

 rise rather above the surface of the water, and 

 the rhizoma, or root-stem, is very thick. The 

 common yellow Water-lily, or Brandy-bottle, 

 as it is sometimes called from the smell of its 

 flowers, is common in every part of England, 

 and it is generally found in small ponds or 

 ditches. The other species are mostly natives 

 of North America. 



The Indian Lotos (Nelumbium speciosum) 

 differs so much from both the preceding genera, 

 as to be considered by some botanists to form 

 a different natural order. The sepals and petals 

 are so intermingled in the flower as to be 

 scarcely distinguishable ; but the filaments of 

 the stamens are less broad and petal-like. The 

 disk is still elevated, but it has lost the vase-like 

 form, and it appears as though the top had been 

 abruptly cut off ; while the carpels are no longer 

 joined together, but are plunged each separately 

 in the fleshy receptacle, or torus, with their 

 stigmas quite distinct. As the carpels are only 

 half immersed in the torus, and thus show their 

 styles and stigmas, they have a very singular 



