Historical. 19 



the midst of which are many yellow stamens. After the flower, a round 

 head is produced, in which are very many black, shining seeds, like 

 millet. The rhizomes are thick, nodular, black outside, white and spongy 

 within, fastened in the mud by many fibrous roots. In addition to the 

 synonyms given by Lobelius, Dodonaeus tells us that Nymphaea is 

 Nenuphar of the shops, and that Apuleius gives the Latin names " mater 

 Herculania," " alga palustris," " clavum Veneris," " digitum Veneris," and 

 the Gallic name Baditin. To these Dodonaeus adds Wassermahnen 

 and Haar-strang of the Germans. The medicinal powers of the herb 

 are discussed and the subject is then dismissed without any reference 

 to the Egyptian species. 



Besler's magnificent folio (161 3) illustrates in color three kinds of 

 Nymphaea : N. alba major, N. alba minor, and N. lutea, known now as 

 Nymphaea alba, N. Candida, and Nuphar lutea respectively. The descrip- 

 tion of " N. alba major " is given with singular accuracy in many details : 

 leaves broad, smooth, thick, green, cleft to the petiole, etc. ; radix spongy 

 within, and marked with blackish scars (foliorum vestigiis), etc. In the 

 figure, the characteristic round root-scars are very plain. 



The material is now in hand for a satisfactory summing up of 

 the knowledge of botany as determined by the progressive increase 

 of accuracy and the widening horizon of science up to this time ; and 

 the summing up was duly made by Caspar Bauhin. In the Pinax (1623) 

 he divides Nymphaea into two "genera," one with white flowers and, 

 black rhizome, the other with yellow flowers and white rhizome ; the * 

 latter, called " Nymphaea lutea " includes Nuphar and some other types. 

 The former, " Nymphaea alba," is divided into four species. The first 

 of these, with its synonymy, is : 



" Nymphaea alba major 



Nenuphar album, Brunfelsius. 



Nymphaea alba, Brunf. Matth. Ang. Dodon. Cord. hist. Lon. Ad. Lobel. 



Taber. Thai. Ger. Clus. hist. 

 Nymphaea Candida, Trag. Fuch. Tur. Caes. 

 Nymphaea major alba, Lugd. Cast. Eyst. 

 Lotus Aegyptia, Alpini." 



The last synonym is unquestionably wrongly placed. The second 

 species of Bauhin is " Nymphaea alba minor," being " Nymphaea parva, 

 Matth." Whatever the plant may be, it is not a Nymphaea in the present 

 sense ; and the same may be said of the third and fourth species of Bauhin. 

 The consideration reduces for our present purposes to a single species, 

 in which, however, two, and possibly three, quite distinct plants are 



