Nymphales,] 



NYMPHiEACE^. 



411 



in the imbricated nature of the petals, sepals, and stamens ; to Waterbeans their resem- 

 blance is evident ; with Crowfoots they arc connected through the tribe of Pteonies, 

 with which they agree m the dilated state of the disk, which, in Poeonia papaveracea and 

 Moutan, frequently i-ises as high as the top of the ovaries, and in the indefinite number 

 of ^eh* hypog}Tious stamens ; but in Crowfoots the placentae only occupy the suture 

 of each of the carpels of wliich the finiit is made up ; so that m Nigella, in which the 

 carpels cohere in the centre, the seeds are attached to the axis, while in Waterlilies 

 the placentce occupy the whole surface of each side of the individual carpels, of which 

 the fruit is composed. 



On the other hand, if we consider Waterhhes as a part of the Endogenous class, 

 we shall be at no loss to find strong affinities for them in that series ; as for example 

 with Hydi'ocharads, and more particularly with the Ahsmal Alliance, whose indefinite 

 carpels, habit, and peculiar placentation, are vei'y important points of resemblance. 



Independently of the circumstances to which allusion has just been made, this Order 

 is remai-kable in some other respects. It offers one of the best examples which can be 

 adduced of the gradual passage of petals into stamens, and of sepals into petals : if at- 

 tentively examined, the transition will be fomid so insensible that many intonnediate 

 bodies will be seen to be neither precisely petals nor stam'ens, but both in part. The 

 development of the torus, which is so remarkable in Waterbeans, is here I'epresented 

 by a similar enlai'gement of the disk, which in some, as in Nuphar, is merely a hypo- 

 gynous expansion, out of which grow the stamens and petals ; hi others, as Nymphaja, 

 elevates itself as high as the top of the ovary, to the surface of which it is adnate, and 

 as the stamens are carried up along with it, we have these oi'gans apparently proceed- 

 ing from the sm'face of the ovary ; in the genus Barclaya, the petals are also carried 

 up with the stamens, on the outside of which they even cohere mto a tube, so that in 

 this genus we have a singular instance of an inferior calyx and a superior corolla in the 

 same plant. In Victoria the sepals are also adnate to this disk, and thus a half-adherent 

 ovary is produced. In Nymphsea alba, the seeds are inclosed in a true arillus ; but M. 

 Planchon (Mem. sitr les Arilles, p. 18) has shown that no such integument exists m 

 Nuphar luteum. 



Floating plants, inhabiting the whole of the northern hemisphere, occasionally met 

 \vith at the southern point of Africa, but generally rare in the southern hemisphei'e ; 

 on the continent of South America they are represented by Victoria. 



Tliis Order has the reputation of being antiaphrodisiac, sedative, and narcotic — pro- 

 perties not very clearly made out, but generally credited. Dr. Wight has, however, 

 well observed that these are quite imaginary qualities, assumed to exist in consequence 

 of the habitation of Waterhhes " in the midst of cool and placid waters, combined with 

 the chaste whiteness of theu' flowers." The Tm-ks prepare a cooling drmk from the 

 flowers of Nuphar luteum, which they call Pufer ciceglii. Their stems are certainly bitter 

 and astringent, for which reason they have been prescribed in dysentery. They con- 

 tain a considerable quantity of starch, and after repeated washings, are capable of being 

 used for food without danger. The seeds are eagerly sought after in times of scarcity, by 

 the wild people m whose coimtries they gi'ow. They taste hke Poppy-seeds, and are 

 used either boiled or raw hke Millet. Victoria, the most gigantic and beautiful of water 

 plants, is said to be on that account called Water Maize in South America. Euryale 

 seeds are in like manner a favom'ite food among the Indians and Chinese. The large 

 quantity of starch contained in them accounts for tliis. The rhizomes of various species 

 of Nymphaea are esteemed by the negroes of Senegal, who ai*e said to roast and eat 

 thera hke Potatoes. In India the farmaceous seeds are eaten either in a raw state, 

 or after having been roasted in heated sand. It is said by Fee that the rhizomes of 

 Nymphaea alba are better than Oak-galls for dyeing gray ; they have also been long 

 employed advantageously for tanning leather ; and a tolerable sort of beer has been 

 prepared from them. The leaves of Nuphar luteum are reported to be styptic— ^?u^^ 



GENERA. 



Tribe 1. Euryalidae— I Tribe 2. Nupharidae.— 

 Tuheof the calyx adherent Calyx and petals both 



the disk. 



tlTlCt. 



Euryale, Salisb. 



Anneslea, Andr. 

 Victoria, Lindl. 



distinct. 



Nymphsea, Neck. 

 Castalia, Salisb. 

 Leuconymphcca ,'BoGr)\ 

 Cyanea, DC. 



Loto-t, DC. 

 Castalia, DC. 

 Nuphar, Smith. 

 Nymphosanthiis, Rich. 

 Nenuphar, Ilayn. 



Tribe 3. Barclayida;.— 

 Calyx free. Corolla ad- 

 hering to the disk, mono- 

 petaloits. 



Barclaya, Wall. 



Position. 



Nu.MDERS, Gen. 5. Sp. 50. 

 Papaveracea:. 

 Cabombaccce.— Nymph^ace^.— NclumbiacefE. 



Alismalcs. 



