NYMPILEACEA. 73 
ORDER ITI—NYMPHAHACES. 
Aquatic herbs with submerged rhizomes, sending up leaves and 
1-flowered scapes, or more rarely swimming leafy branches. Leaves 
peltate or cordate at the base, usually floating, more rarely rising 
out of the water. In some species there are membranous sub- 
merged leaves, as well as floating ones of a thick, firm texture. 
Flowers generally floating. Sepals 4 or 5, more rarely 3 or 6. 
Petals usually numerous, but sometimes only 38. Stamens in- 
definite, rarely definite, free and hypogynous, or more or less 
attached to the disk, which often includes the carpels, so that the 
stamens become even epigynous, and various intermediate forms 
occur between the two; anthers erect, adnate, opening by longi- 
tudinal shits. Carpels usually numerous, rarely only 3, generally 
more or less embedded in and surrounded by an expansion of the 
torus ; or united with it, so as to form a many-celled, superior, half- 
superior, or inferior compound ovary; more rarely quite free and 
distinct, merely placed upon the torus. Styles sometimes united 
by their edges so as to form a disk: stigmas adnate to thie 
styles, radiating or forming an interrupted ring; distinct where 
the carpels are free or separately imbedded in the torus. Ovules 
orthotropous, numerous, attached to the partitions of the carpels, 
or solitary and pendulous from the apex of the carpel. Fruit 
indehiscent, often more or less fleshy or spongy. Seeds albuminous 
(except in Nelumbium), frequently with a fleshy arillus. Embryo 
near the hilum of the seed, enclosed in a vitellus, which separates 
it from the farinaceous albumen. 
Mr. Bentham and Dr. Hooker judiciously combine with the 
order Nymphzeaceze as generally received, the Cabombee and 
Nelumboneze, which do not differ from it more than the various 
sub-orders of Rosaceze do from each other. 
GENUS I—-NYMPHAA. Linn. 
Sepals 4, persistent, inserted nearly at the base of the torus. 
Petals numerous, in several rows, passing gradually into stamens, 
and with them inserted into the torus which surrounds the carpel. 
Exterior stamens with petaloid filaments, and the anther lobes on 
their inner faces shorter than those of the interior ones; filaments 
