3468 



VICTORIA 



VICTORIA 



the V. Cruziana of d'Orbigny. Its far southern habitat 

 (27 south) explains its hardiness. At Riverton, New 

 Jersey, seeds that have wintered in an open pond pro- 

 duce plants which flower by the end of August. The 

 large starchy seeds of this species are used as food in 

 Paraguay under the name of Mais del Agua, "water- 

 corn." The form of victoria originally introduced from 

 British Guiana had leaves entirely flat until the plant 

 attained considerable size; then a low rim appeared. 

 The leaf was deeply purple-colored beneath. V. 

 Cruziana differs markedly from this. V. regia var. 

 Randii approaches the latter; and Malme's recently 

 described V. Cruziana forma mattogrossensis approaches 

 V. regia in several details. Apparently the two species 

 grade into one another in Matto Grosso, where the 

 tributaries of the Amazon and the Parana rivers inter- 

 lace. 



For much interesting information on Victoria, see 

 Hooker, "Botanical Magazine" 4275-4278; Planchon, 

 "Flore des Serres" 6: 193-224; Caspary in "Flora Brasil- 

 iensis" 4, part 2, page 143 ff. In 1854 John Fisk Allen 

 published in Boston a quarto work (pages 21 by 27 

 inches) with colored plates, entitled: "Victoria regia, 

 or the great water-lily of America. With a brief account 

 of its discovery and introduction into cultivation: with 

 illustrations by William Sharp, from specimens grown 

 at Salem, Massachusetts, U. S. A." 



regia, Lindl. Fig. 3931. Lvs. sparingly pubescent 

 beneath, margins of Ivs. of diam. above 40 in., turned 

 up 2^-4 in. high: fls. becoming dull crimson the second 

 evening; sepals prickly almost or quite to the tips: 

 prickles of the ovary about %in. (10-11 mm.) long: 

 seed elliptic-globose, nearly ^in. long, less in diam. 

 (7-8 mm. long, 5^-6 mm. diam.); raphe indistinct; 

 operculum elliptic-orbicular, with the micropyle at its 

 center and hUum at the margin. British Guiana. 

 B.M. 4275 (poor); 4276-78 (incorrect in some details). 

 F.S. 6:595-604. Kerner, Natural History of Plants, pi. 

 xi. Tricker, Water Garden, pis. 1,2; pp. 21, 35. Caspary, 

 Fl. Brasil. 4, pt. 2, pi. 38, fig. 15 (seed). Var. Rdndii, 

 Hort., has run of If. &-6 in. high, and under side of 

 If. deeper red: fl. turning to deep crimson on second 

 day. This is the form commonly cult, in American 

 gardens now as V. regia. Amazon and its tributaries. 

 A.G. 18:469. Intro, by Sturtevant in 1886. 



Cruziana, d'Orbigny (known in cult, as V. regia var. 

 Trickeri, and V. Trickeri). Lvs. densely villous beneath, 

 upturned margins green, 6-8 in. high : fls. becoming deep 

 red-pink the second evening; sepals prickly only at 

 base, smooth above: prickles of ovary over ^in. 

 (15-16 mm.) long, crowded: seed subglobose, about 

 J^in. (7^-9 mm.) diam.; raphe stout; operculum 

 elongate-ovate, with hilum and micropyle equidistant 

 from the margin. Parana River and tributaries, 

 Paraguay. Tricker, Water Garden, pi. 1; pp. 51, 55. 

 Caspary, Fl. Brasil. 4, pt. 2, pi. 38, fig. 16 (seed). 

 Gn.M. 1:267. A.G. 19:449. F.E. 10:suppl. Feb. 12 

 (1898). Intro, by Wm. Tricker in 1894. Forma 

 mattogrossensis, Malme, has low rim on If.: seed 

 very large (8-10 mm. diam.) with broadly oval opercu- 

 lum: sepals either smooth or spiny. Corumba, state 

 of Matto Grosso, Brazil. Acta Hort. Bot. Bergiani, 

 4: pis. 1-4 (1907). HENRY S. CONARD. 



Cultivation of victorias. 



At first V. regia was cultivated at a great expense in 

 conservatories and tanks built especially for the pur- 

 pose. Then it was grown in artificially heated ponds in 

 the open air. The victoria is largely grown in private 

 and public gardens throughout the United States at 

 the present time, together with tropical nympheas, 

 and in some cases without artificial heat, but this 

 method of culture is uncertain and often unsatisfactory. 

 V. Cruziana is by far the best kind for out-of-door 

 culture. Moreover, it can be grown where V. regia fails 



to grow, as it revels in a temperature of only 75 to 80. 

 Its introduction has been of great interest. It has stimu- 

 lated the culture of aquatic plants in the United States, 

 also in Europe where it is now largely grown. 



The Victoria regia is now considered of easy culture. 

 Its requirements are heat, light, and a rich mellow loam 

 in abundance. The seed should be sown in February 

 and March. The temperature of the water should 

 range between 85 to 90 F. The seed may be planted 

 in pots or seed-pans and placed in shallow water. A 

 tank 8 to 12 inches deep, having a metal lining, copper 

 preferred, is very serviceable for seedlings and young 

 plants. Where sufficient heat is not attained from the 

 heating pipes, an addition can be made by the use of an 

 oil-lamp. It is altogether unnecessary and unnatural to 

 file or chip the seed to assist or hasten germination. The 

 seedlings will appear in about twenty days, though 

 occasionally a few may appear in ten days. These 

 should be potted off singly into 2K-inch pots, using 

 fine loamy soil. The water temperature for the young 

 plants should be the same as directed for the seed-pots. 

 As soon as the young plants acquire their first floating 

 leaf they will doubtless be benefited by repotting. From 

 the very beginning, as sprouted seeds, they should be 

 kept steadily growing, repotting at intervals, until they 

 are planted out in their summer quarters. As the 

 young plants advance they will require more space, so 

 that the leaves are not crowded and overlap each other. 



To raise plants of V. Cruziana (V. Trickeri) is alto- 

 gether a different matter. The seed will not germinate 

 in a high temperature; 65 to 70 is sufficient. The seed 

 may be sown in February, but there is great uncer- 

 tainty as to how long one must wait for the seedlings to 

 appear, and also as to what percentage of seeds will 

 germinate. As soon as the seedlings appear they should 

 be treated like seedlings of V. regia, except as to tem- 

 perature, which should be kept as above stated for 

 seedlings and small plants, and as the season advances 

 may be raised to 75 to 80. The rationality of the 

 cool treatment here advocated is borne out by the fact 

 that early in June quantities of seedlings appear in the 

 pond in the open where a plant has grown the preceding 

 season, the seed having remained in the pond during 

 the winter. Planting in summer quarters may be done 

 early in June or whenever it is safe to plant out tender 

 nympheas, that is, when the pond is not artificially 

 heated. When it is desired to plant out in unheated 

 ponds it is not safe to plant before the middle or latter 

 end of June. The conditions of the weather, earliness or 

 lateness of the season, locality, and the like, must all be 

 taken into account. 



The best results are to be obtained from an artificially 

 heated pond, or pits in the pond specially constructed to 

 start the victorias, these pits to be heated by hot water 

 or steam and covered with frames and sashes. By this 

 method plants may be set in their summer quarters 

 early in May and heat applied until the middle of 

 June, or rather a temperature of 85 maintained 

 until the advent of summer weather. 



Very gratifying results are obtained when the vic- 

 toria is grown under glass, as it is thus grown in sev- 

 eral places in the United States, notably at Schenley 

 Park, Pittsburgh, and Allegheny Park; also at "Grey- 

 stone," the estate of Samuel Untermyer, Yonkers, 

 New York, also at many notable gardens in Europe. 

 Plants grown under glass usually attain to larger 

 dimensions, as they are protected against climatic 

 changes and the elements, besides enjoying more of a 

 tropical atmosphere. There is more than one disadvan- 

 tage, however. Setting aside the costly construction, 

 labor, and so on, it is by no means inviting even on a 

 warm day to spend many minutes in such a structure. 

 Compare this with a natural pond and its surroundings 

 and a cool shady seat where these gorgeous plants may 

 be viewed at leisure. 



Whether grown indoors or out, these plants are only 



