AQUATIC PLANTS. 



AQUATIC PLANTS. 



Flowers for water are of two kinds plants 

 to be placed in the water itself, usually 

 called aquatic plants, and marsh plants to 

 be planted on the banks. Aquatic plants 

 are propagated, some by seed and some by 

 division of the roots. The seeds when 

 sown must be placed under water : in other 

 respects aquatic plants require the same 

 general treatment as other herbaceous 

 plants. 



Many of the aquatic plants will do 

 well in damp and moist situations, such 

 as Butomus umbellatus, Call ha palustris ^ 

 &c., and many marsh plants, as may be 

 inferred from the preceding list, will thrive 

 and flourish in damp, moist shady spots, in 

 which other perennials would languish and 

 ultimately perish. That this is true is 

 evident from the Arum lily, which is an 

 aquatic plant, or in other words, a plant 

 that will grow in water, yet it does well as 

 a pot plant set in ordinary soil, provided 

 that it be watered freely, which keeps the 

 soil in a condition similar to that of marsh 

 land, and receives protection in a cool or 

 even cold greenhouse in winter. 



Aquatic Plants, List of. 



To those who may be desirous of orna- 

 menting any piece of ornamental water, 

 the following lists will be found invaluable. 

 The situation best adapted for hardy 

 aquatics will be found to be in accordance 

 with their height. Many that are not 

 hardy may be introduced for summer 

 decoration in pots sunk either wholly or 

 half deep in water. These can be removed 

 in winter to warm-water tanks under cover 

 of glass. Every year something new in 

 acquatics is being introduced, for the water 

 plants of the tropics are inexhaustible, and 

 very many of them supremely beautiful. 

 Most of the plants which are mentioned in 

 the following lists prefer a shady and 

 sheltered situation, and will be found to 

 flourish best when protected by over- 



hanging trees. Rock- work and root -work 

 form admirable receptacles for plants on 

 the margins of streams, and afford all the 

 protection they require when properly 

 I arranged. It may be said that aquatic 

 plants out-of-doors flower from May to 

 August. Those that require protection in 

 winter, and that on this account are grown 

 in pots, which are plunged in water, 

 will flower earlier ; thus the Arum lily, 

 Richardia or Calla sEthiopica, will flower 

 from Christmas to Easter, within doors. 

 Aquatic plants requiring protection in 

 winter are marked with a star. These 

 plants, whose height is not given, have 

 leaves and flowers floating on the surface 

 of the water. 



The following list comprises all the 

 aquatic plants lhal are most deserving of 

 notice and cul.urc. The height, when 

 given, is in inches. 



Acorus calamus (Sweet Flag), 36, yell 

 (Water Plantain), 



24, rosy 



Alisma plantago 



white. 

 Aponogeton distaohyon,* white, marked with 



black, sweet scented. 

 Arum, ^Ethiopicun (A runt or Trumpet LiJy),* 



24 to 36, pure white. This plant is sometimes 



called " Calla," or " Richardia." 

 Butomus umbellatus, 24, rose. 

 Nuphar adorna, yellow, with red anthers. 



luteum ( Yellow Water Lily), yellow. 

 Nymphaea alba (White Water Lily), white. 



,, adorata, white. 



Pontederia cordata, blue, in fine tufts. 

 Ranunculus aquatilis, white. 

 Sagittaria latifolia, 12, white. 

 Calla ^ithiopica. See Arum sEthiopicum. 

 Caltha palustris, 12, yellow. 

 Hottoma palustris (Water Violet\ 18, lilai 



with yellow. 

 Iris pseudacorus(K*//07t/ Iris or Water Flag). 



24, yellow. 



Limnocharis Humboldtii,* yellow. 

 Menyanthestrifoliata, white, dark green foliage. 

 Sagittaria sagittaefolia, 30, white, dashed with 



pink. 



Thalia dealbata,* 40, blue, purple. 

 Trapa natans, white, with purple claws. 

 Trianea Bogotensis, fine glaucous leaves. 

 Vallisneria spiralis, white, with green strap- 



like leaves. 

 Villarsia nymphaeoides, golden yellow. 



In addition to those already mentioned 

 may be named a few marsh plants of 

 handsome appearance that are suitable for 



