THALAMIFLOR^. 171 



4. MotfOCHLAMYDEJG, flowers without corolla and often 

 without a calyx. 



These four sub-classes have been divided into orders as 

 follows : 



ORDERS or THALAMIFLOR^:. 



1. NYMPH ACE JB (Nymphsea alba) White Water-Lily. 

 (Nuphar luteum) Yellow Water-Lily. 



This order contains water plants of great beauty, they 

 grow in the mud at the bottom of the water, sending 

 up long flower- and leaf-stalks so that the flowers may 

 blossom in the air and the leaves float on the surface ; 



White Water-Lily. 



the leaves are generally round and turned up 

 slightly at the edges. The "Victoria Regia" is a 

 magnificent specimen of this order ; it originally came 

 from Brazil, and has flowers a foot wide, leaves four 

 or five feet across, and is sufficiently buoyant, it is said, 

 to bear the weight of a child. The Lotus of the Nile, 

 the blossom of which so frequently occurs on the 

 carvings of the Egyptians as an offering to Isis, is 

 another member of this order. 



2. PAP AVERAGES (Papaver somniferum) White Poppy. 

 (Papaver Rhceas) Red Poppy. 



Opium is prepared from the unripe capsules of the White 

 Poppy, it is chiefly cultivated for this purpose in India 

 and Turkey. The Chinese are the great consumers of 



