7IO NYMPHMEA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



NYMPH/EA. 



the plant is best left alone for several years, 

 gaining in size of flowers, which become 6 or 

 more inches across, composed of very narrow 

 pale pink petals, deepening in colour towards 

 the centre. The flowers vary through several 

 shades of colour, according to soil and climate, 

 the following varieties being fairly constant : 

 nivea, with very double pure white flowers, 

 narrow petals and rich yellow stamens ; per- 

 fecta, with semi-double flowers of the small 

 narrow petals, but more rounded at the tip 

 and deep flesh or salmon in colour ; and sal- 

 monea, a strong form with flowers of decided 

 salmon-pink. 



N. odorata delicata. A small neat form, 

 with rosy-tinted flowers. 



N. odorata exquisita Finely-shaped rosy- 

 carmine flowers of medium size, with narrow, 

 pointed petals and golden stamens ; they are 

 the darkest of this group, and stand well out of 

 the water. Leaves green above and intense 

 red below. 



N. odorata gigantea. The larger, southern 

 form of odorata, found from North Carolina 

 to Florida, and known as the Rice-field Water- 

 lily. It is of great vigour, delighting in deep 

 water and flowering early in the season, but 

 not in the autumn. The leaves are very large, 

 sometimes measuring as much as 16 inches 

 across, and dark green tinged with purple to- 

 wards the edges, which are often partly rolled 

 inwards. The flowers 4 to 7 inches across 

 are pure white with green sepals, slightly in- 

 curved, and nearly scentless. 



N. odorata maxima. A wild form, also 

 known as sitperba, differing widely from the 

 parent in its larger cup-shaped flowers, with 

 spreading petals very broad at the base, and 

 free from any trace of colour. Found only in 

 New Jersey. 



N. odorata minor. A pretty little plant of 

 slow growth, and one of the best for tanks and 

 shallow water. The starry white flowers are 

 2 to 3 inches across, with purplish sepals and 

 sweetly scented, though forms occur that are 

 almost without scent, and others with flowers 

 more or less incurved. The leaves are small, 

 bright green above, and deep red beneath. A 

 native of the shallow bogs of New Jersey. 

 Syn., N. puinila. 



N. odorata rosacea. A good form coming 

 near exquisita but more vigorous, with bright 

 rosy flowers about 4 inches across, paling to 

 salmon-yellow towards the crown of golden 

 stamens ; petals narrow and pointed. 



N. odorata rosea. The Cape Cod Water- 

 lily a plant of moderate vigour, with petals 

 of a uniform bright rose colour with yellow 

 stamens, and fragrant. It begins early, and 

 seeds so freely that (unless the dead flowers 

 are kept cut) its season is short. The flowers 

 also lose colour quickly when fully expanded, 

 and will sometimes burn in hot sunlight. 

 Leaves rather small, deep red on both sides 

 while young, becoming dark green. Massa- 

 chusetts. 



N. odorata sulphurea. A beautiful plant, 

 distinct from all other kinds in the cactus-shape 



of its flowers. It is a plant of strong growth, 

 forming many crowns and a profusion of clear 

 yellow vanilla-scented flowers, from July into 

 the autumn. Though not much above medium 

 size, they are conspicuous, rising well out of 

 the water, and the long pointed buds open 

 early in the day. The leaves rest on the water 

 unless crowded, and are evenly rounded, and 

 finely blotched and marbled. It is slow in 

 starting to flower, hardly beginning until 

 July. 



N. o. sulphurea grandiflora. A fine form, 

 with the same starry cactus-shaped flowers, 

 but much larger, fuller, and of paler yellow. 

 Though its parent is one of the latest, this 

 kind is the first in bloom and bears the largest 

 flower, opening out very flat, with narrow, 

 crowded petals of elegant effect. It is free in 

 flower when well established, and makes many 

 crowns, with bold foliage of paler green, less 

 mottled above, but covered beneath with 

 reddish blotches. 



N. Robinsoni. A star-like flower of distinct 

 colour, a reddish-purple deepening towards the 

 centre, which shows traces of an orange 

 ground, paling again towards the tips of the 

 petals. The flowers are of medium size, with 

 pointed and sharply tapering petals, and they 

 last longer than almost any other kind when 

 open. Leaf dark green, blotched with chest- 

 nut above and on the stems, and reddish below. 



N. sanguinea. The deepest in colour of 

 the smaller Water-lilies, with flowers which 

 deepen from clear carmine to deep ruby crim- 

 son, with dark orange-red stamens. 



N. Seignoureti. One of the older hybrids, 

 its colour being indistinct. The flowers are 

 dull yellow washed with rose, and are held 

 several inches above the water. A compact 

 grower, with small but dense leaves, finely 

 spotted. 



N. suavissima. With deep rose-pink 

 flowers, very full of narrow petals, and fra- 

 grant. 



N. tetragona. The smallest of Water-lilies, 

 with little flowers \\ to 2^ inches across and 

 pure white with yellow stamens, opening for 

 three or four days from noon till about 5 p. M. 

 The leaf is as large as the palm of the hand 

 and shaped almost like a horse-shoe, with the 

 lobes wide apart ; coloured dark green above 

 and reddish below. This kind and its forms 

 thrive well in tanks, forming no offsets and 

 spreading slowly, though free to flower from 

 May to the end of September. It is grown 

 from seed. N. Asia and parts of N. America. 



N. tetragona var. Helvola. A seedling with 

 pale yellow flowers 2 inches across, open during 

 the afternoon and slightly raised above the 

 water. The leaf is oval and yet smaller than 

 in the parent, and freely blotched with brown. 

 It thrives in shallow water with a long season 

 of flower, while a dozen or more blooms may 

 often be counted at once upon a strong plant. 

 In hot sunlight they sometimes come flushed 

 with rose. 



N. tetragona var. himalayensis. A small- 

 flowered seedling, with floating blooms of 



