NYMPH^EA WATER-LILY. 83 



by only a few species, none of which are very important medicinally. 

 They are generally astringent and somewhat demulcent. The plant de- 

 scribed below, Nymphcea odorata, is the most important medicinally, 

 though species of the genus nuphar possess similar properties but to a 

 more limited extent. 



NYMPHCEA. WATER-LILY. 



Nymphsea odorata Aiton. Sweet-scented Water-Lily. 



Description. Calyx : sepals 4, green outside, white within, nearly free, 

 withering but not falling away. Corolla : petals numerous, in many rows, 

 gadually passing into stamens, imbricate, inserted upon the ovary. Sta- 

 mens indefinite, inserted upon the ovary above the petals, the outer ones 

 with dilated, petal-like filaments. Ovary 18- to 30-celled, the concave sum- 

 mit bearing at its centre a tubercle, from which the stigmas, equal in num- 

 ber with the cells, radiate like the spokes of a wheel, projecting and in- 

 curving at the margin, forming a scalloped border. Fruit depressed- 

 globular, many-celled, many-seeded, covered with the bases of the decayed 

 petals. 



A perennial aquatic herb, having a rough, knotty rhizome as large as a 

 man's arm, from which proceed flower- and leaf-stems, 1 to 6 feet in length, 

 varying in this respect according to the depth of water in which the 

 specimen grows. Leaves orbicular, cordate-cleft to the base of the petiole, 

 which is inserted about the centre, 6 to 10 inches wide, the margin entire, 

 the upper surface dark, glossy green, repelling water, the under lighter 

 green tinged with crimson or purple ; petioles in section nearly semicir- 

 cular, very flexible, porous, the pores filled with air to buoy the leaves up 

 and permit them to float easily upon the surface of the water. Flower- 

 stems round, otherwise resembling the petioles, retracting after flowering, 

 so that the fruit matures under water. Flowers solitary, 3 to 5 inches 

 in diameter, white, rarely pink or rose-colored, very sweet scented, open- 

 ing early in the morning and closing in the afternoon for several days 

 in succession. The season of flowering extends throughout the summer, 

 from June to September. 



Habitat. The margins of lakes, ponds, and slow-flowing streams with 

 muddy bottoms from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, often covering the 

 surface of the water for acres in extent, and presenting a scene of rare 

 loveliness. Indeed, there is only one other aquatic plant indigenous to 

 North America (Nelumbium luteum Water Chinquapin) at all compar- 

 able to this in beauty. The latter belongs to the same order and grows 

 in similar situations, but is rare and local east of the Alleghanies. 



Part Used. The rhizome not official. 



Constituents. The rhizome of the water-lily has an extremely astrin- 

 gent and bitter taste, the astringency being due to the presence of tannic 

 and gallic acids, which are its only medicinal constituents. 



