74 ITS BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS. 



the Chinese cultivate and prize it above all other 

 plants. " This splendid flower," he says, " ce- 

 lebrated for its beauty by the Chinese poets, and 

 ranked for its virtues among the plants which, 

 according to Chinese theology, enter into the 

 beverage of immortality, flourished in the greatest 

 vigour in the gardens of Tang, chow. Its tulip- 

 like blossoms of many petals, tinted with the 

 most delicate pink, hung over its fan-like leaves, 

 floated on the surface of the water, or rising on 

 long footstalks, of unequal height, bent them 

 into elegant curves, and shaded with graceful 

 festoons the plants beneath. Near Yuen-Ming- 

 Yuen, and under the walls of Pekin," con- 

 tinues Dr. Abel, " I saw it covering, with pink 

 and yellow blossoms, large tracts of land, and 

 could sympathise with the enthusiasm of the 

 Chinese bards, who have sung of the delight of 

 moonlight excursions on rivers, covered with the 

 flowering Lien, wha. Its seeds, in size and form, 

 like a small acorn without its cup, are eaten 

 green, or dried as nuts, and are often preserved 

 as sweetmeats ; they have a nut-like flower. Its 

 roots, sometimes as thick as the arm, of a pale 

 green without, and whitish within, in a raw 

 state, are eaten as fruit, being juicy, and of a 

 sweetish and refreshing flavour, and when boiled 

 are served as vegetables. The leaves are said to 



