Ill] 



SEEDLINGS OF VICTORIA REGIA 



33 



among the Alismaceae. The leaf-succession in the Giant 

 Waterlily of the Amazons was long ago recorded 1 , but the full 

 appreciation of its significance we owe to Gwynne-Vaughan 2 , 

 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^rpm his work : 



The first leaf is acicular 

 and without a blade (/j in 

 Fig. 1 6). 



The second leaf is elon- 

 gate lanceolate, sometimes 

 with two hastate lobes, and 

 resembles the adult leaves 

 of Earclaya (/ 2 in Fig. 16). 



The third leaf \s 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. Victoriaregia.'Lmdl. Seedling, showing 



tViprp is a litt-lp nnrket- or acicular first leaf 'i. and hastate second and 



r third leaves /, and /,. (According to Gwynne- 



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



which.ppeu.to be formed 

 by the fusion of the auricles 

 at their bases. 



The fourth leaf is the first swimming leaf, and is distinctly 



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



