WATER LILY TKIBE. 25 



Each stem bears a single leaf, which is composed of 3 

 ternate delicate leaflets. Fl. May. Perennial. 



OKD. III. NYMPELEACE^E. WATER LILY TRIBE. 



Sepals 4 6, gradually passing into petals, and these 

 into stamens, all being inserted on a fleshy disk, which 

 surrounds the ovary ; stigma sessile, *ayed ; berry many- 

 celled, many-seeded. Herbaceous aquatic plants, with 

 peltate, floating leaves, and large, often fragrant, flowers. 

 The roots of some species are roasted and eaten : the 

 seeds contain a ' considerable quantity of starch, and in 

 seasons of scarcity are used as food. The East Indian 



NYMPH JEA ALBA (White Water Lily). 



Nelumbium speciosum is said to have been the sacred 

 bean of Pythagoras. Its curious seed-vessels, filled with 

 vegetating seeds, are thought to have originated the 

 cornucopia of the ancients. One plant of this order, 

 Victoria regdlis, the largest and most beautiful of aquatic 

 plants, produces blossoms 15 inches, and leaves 6 feet, 

 in diameter. The seeds are eatable, and are called in 

 South America, Water Maize. 



