Ill] SEEDLINGS OF VICTORIA REGIA 33 



among the Alismaceae. The leaf-succession in the Giant 

 WaterHly of the Amazons was long ago recorded^, but the full 

 appreciation of its significance we owe to Gwynne-Vaughan^, 

 who contributed greatly to 

 our knowledge of the Nym- 

 phaeaceae. He pointed out 

 that the successive leaves 

 of the Victoria regia seedling 

 show a progressive change 

 from the acicular primor- 

 dial leaf to the peltate form 

 of the mature leaf. The fol- 

 lowing account of the series 

 is derived from his work : 



The first leaf is acicular 

 and without a blade (/j in 

 Fig. 16). 



The second leaf is elon- 

 gate lanceolate, sometimes 

 with two hastate lobes, and 

 resembles the adult leaves 

 of Barclaya (4 in Fig. 1 6). 



The third leaf'is elongate- 

 hastate to deltoid-hastate, 

 recalling the sagittate 

 leaves of Castalia pygmaea^ 

 Salisb., etc. At the base of 

 the lamina, just above the 



insertion of the petiole, Fig. 16. F/c^o/faregia, Lindl. Seedling, showing 



there is a little pocket or ^^^''}f ^^^\ ^^^\h' ^^^ ^'''*^*^ ^^*''^ ^^^ 



r _ _ third leaves l^ and l^ . (According to Gwynne- 



pouch on the adaxial side, Vaughan, D. T. (1897), the second leaf is more 

 whirh qnnp^r<?fn hp fnrmerl commonly lanceolate.) 5/.. stipules of second 



wnicn appears to De rormea i^^f which protect the third. (Nat. size.) [A. A.] 

 by the fusion of the auricles 

 at their bases. 



T\iQ fourth leaf is the first swimming leaf, and is distinctly 



1 Trecul, A. (1854). 2 Gwynne- Vaughan, D. T. (1897). 



A.W. p. 



