THE WATER-LILY FAMILY. 79 



as a rule, all growing in wet places, are nearly or 

 quite hairless, like the water Ranun' cuius; the fact 

 is that hairy plants can absorb water, such as rain 

 and dew, when the supply from the soil is deficient in 

 the dry seasons. 



Nymphaeacege. 



The Water-lily Family. 



The members of this family, some 35 species in 

 all, of 8 genera in 3 tribes, are wholly aquatic, and 

 mostly to be found in the Northern Hemisphere, such 

 as the Nelum'hmin, or " Lotus," of India. The largest 

 flowering is the Vido'ria re'gia, discovered growing in 

 the river Amazon, in Bolivia, about 1800. It first, 

 flowered in England in 1849. The leaves are six feet 

 across, and strong enough to bear a child. 



Nymphse'a stella'ta. — The blue Water-lily is the 

 only South African plant of this family, and appears 

 to be the same as one growing in the Nile. The 

 structure of the flower explains how petals are made 

 out of stamens ; for a perfect transition will be found 

 between them, as shown by the illustration (Fig. 28, 

 1, 2, 3, 4). The petals begin with a broadening of the 

 filament, while the anthers decrease in size till they 

 disappear altogether — that is, in passing from the 

 inside of the flower to the calyx, outwards. 



