72 FLOWERS OF LAKES, RIVERS, ETC. 



A(|iiatic like the Yellow Water Lily il has much the same haliit. 

 It has too the same habit of opening and expandino- lis Howers, 

 expanding at 7 a.m. or in the middle of the day, and letting them rest 

 on the surface closed up about 4 p.m. or in the evening. 'J'he leaves are 

 smaller, longer, incumbent or overlapping at the base, and less heart- 

 shaped; 5-10 in. across; the stomata, contrary to the usual rule in 

 terrestrial types, arc on the upper surface. 



The llower has a double appearance, having a lance-shaped outline, 

 the parts spirally arranged, the sepals, petals, and stamens passing into 

 each other. The ovary contains many ovules, and the stigma lies 

 above it. The embryo is small, the cotyledons remaining in the .seed 

 when the latter germinates. The seeds are heart-shaped, smooth, 

 shiny, grey, and embedded in a slimy material after the capsule rots. 

 There is a glandular pore at the base of the petals, and the stalkless 

 rays of the stigma also extend beyond the margin. 



This plant lifts its flowers above the surface about 3-4 in. It 

 flowers from July to August. The White Water Lily is a herbaceous 

 perennial. 



The carpels, which are embedded in a thick receptacle, are arranged 

 in a radiate manner. The anthers open as soon as the llower unfolds, 

 or the ne.xt day. As they stand above the pistil and bend over it the 

 pollen falls upon the stigma, and when no insects visit them the plant 

 is self-pollinated. The flowers are sweet-scented, and a honey-like 

 liquid is produced by the stigma. There is no nectary. Owing to the 

 aquatic habit, creeping insects cannot enter the flower. It is pollinated 

 by beetles of the genus Ccfonia and bv Glaphyrida-. The stamens are 

 inserted on the ovary. 



The fruit of the White Water Lily is tlispersed both by water and 

 by its own agency. Alter the expansion of the llower at the surface 

 it recoils to the bottom, allowing the seed to germinate in the mud, 

 and so is dispersed much like seeds of Willisiicria. The carpels 

 possess air-cells facilitating the floating of the seeds. The capsules 

 are edible. 



The plant is a Hydrophyte and aquatic, helping to form a certain 

 type of water association — the tloating-leaf association. 



The beetles that feed upon it are Douacia mcnvaiithidis, the moths 

 Hydrocampa potaiiiOQefi and H. iiviiipha-ala, and the Homopteron 

 Rhophalosiphina nyviphecr. 



The name Casialia is that of a .sacred fountain on Mount Parnassus, 

 and alba means white, in allusion to the flowers. 



The English names are Alau, Bobbins, Cambie-leaf, Candock, 



