LIMNANTHEMUM 



LIMNOCHARIS 



925 



LIMNANTHEMUM (Greek, mars h flower). Including 

 \illdrsiq. Gentianacece. FLOATING HEART. About 20 

 pecies of aquatic plants, widely scattered in tropical 

 . ad temperate regions. They have 5-petaled white or 

 ellow fls., borne in spring and summer. Floating or 

 -eeping: Ivs. ovate or orbiculate, heart-shaped at the 

 .ase, rarely peltate, with a closed sinus, entire or 

 lightly wavy: peduncles with 1, 2 or many fls. : corolla 

 heel-shaped, deeply 5-cut; lobes fringed or not; sta- 

 mens 5, fixed at the base of the corolla. Distinguished 

 irom Menyanthes by having the capsule 4-valved in- 

 tead of irregularly 2-valved. Four hardy kinds are 

 rocurable from dealers in aquatics and native plants. 

 i Limnanthemums are most useful ornamental aquatic 

 lants, and are represented in cultivation by but four 

 pecies. L. lacunosum Floating Heart is the hardi- 

 st of American species; its mottled, variegated leaves, 

 bout 2 in. broad, are very attractive, regardless of its 

 .ainty, white, miniature flowers. It is best grown un- 

 .er natural conditions, in pools and still water, and in 

 ?ater about 2 ft. deep. It may also be grown in tubs, 

 ,s a surface covering, with a few tall plants in the 

 enter. L. trachyspermum t commonly known as the 

 "airy Water-Lily, is a much stronger grower; Ivs. deep 

 ,'reen, and, when grown in natural ponds, attain large 

 >roportions,4-6 in. broad, and bears innumerable flowers, 

 nore like flakes of snow. It is also vahiable for tub cul- 

 ure, similar to the preceding variety. L. Indicum, 

 '.ommonly called Water Snowflake, is undoubtedly the 

 nost interesting and attractive of any, and deserving of 

 nost general cultivation. The leaves are of a light green 

 :olor, heart-shaped, and it produces flowers in greater 

 ibundance, which are much larger and covered com- 

 pletely with hirsute glands. These, like the other varie- 

 iies, are produced in clusters on the petioles, near the 

 surface, and, although they are of but one day's dura- 

 ;ion, they are produced in such quantities that there is 

 aever any lack of these delicate flowers all through the 

 season. In tub culture, this variety (or species) will 

 soon crowd itself over the edge of an ordinary tub, and, 

 although the leaves no longer float on the surface, it 

 does not affect the growth or the proliferousness of its 

 flowering. When grown in tubs, the latter should be 

 filled two-thirds with moderately rich, loamy soil, 

 covered with sand, and filled and kept filled with water. 

 All three species, when strong enough to produce flower- 

 ing leaves or petioles, produce new shoots, as each clus- 

 ter of flowers apparently terminates with a bud and 

 produces leaves; these, when strong, produce flower 

 buds and leaf buds again, and thus soon reproduce 

 themselves. L. trachyspermum produces a cluster of 

 fleshy roots, with a bud from single leaves in fall, which 

 are plentiful in Florida in the season. These are excel- 

 lent for distribution, and can be sent safely a great dis- 

 tance. The petioles are very brittle and easily snap off, 

 'but the floating leaf soon emits roots at the broken end 

 'as well as where the flower buds are located; thus it is 

 very free and proliferous. These are very desirable 

 aquatic plants. 



The fourth species, L. (or Villarsia) nymphoides, is 

 a rampant, weedy plant, although its mottled foliage 

 ' is beautiful and the flower is much larger than those 

 ;of the above plants. Its habit of growth is also dif- 

 ferent: it produces runners, and rambles over an im- 

 mense space ; it also produces seed in great quantity, 

 which, when ripe, floats on the surface for a short time, 

 then sinks to the bottom; it is best confined to the 

 1 limits of a tub, where it grows freely and produces its 

 large yellow flowers in profusion. It is hard to eradicate 

 when once established, as it is perfectly hardy. 



A. Color of fls. yellow. 

 B. Fls. accompanied by clusters of tubers. 

 lacundsum, Griseb. Stems sometimes 10 ft. long: Ivs. 

 purplish beneath, 1-2 in. long: fls. 3-6 lines across; 

 segments ovate, acute : seeds smooth. July, Aug. 

 Ponds, Nova Scotia to Fla. and La., west to Minn. 

 B.B.2:622. 



BB. Fls. not accompanied by clusters of tubers. 

 nymphoides, Hoffmg. and Link. (Also written L. 

 nymphceoldes.) Lvs. 2-4 in. broad : fls. 1 in. across or 

 more ; segments obcordate r , short-fringed. May-July. 



Eu., Asia; naturalized in District of Columbia. B. B. 

 2:623. Gn. 24. p. 535. Simulates Limnocharis Hum- 

 boldtii in habit. 



AA. Color of fls. white. 



B. Seeds rough. 



trachysp6rmum, Gray. Stouter and larger than L. 

 lacunosum: Ivs. cordate orbicular, thick, entire or re- 

 pand, 2-6 in. long, spongy: tubers thick: fls. 6-10 lines 

 broad. Apr.-July. N. J. to Fla. and Tex. B.B. 2: 623., 

 "Fairy Water Lily" is a nursery catalogue name. 



BB. Seeds smooth. 



Indicum, Thw. WATER SNOWFLAKE. Fls. white, yel- 

 low towards the base within ; segments fimbriated,. 

 densely papillose, without a longitudinal fold down the 

 middle. Tropics. Not B. M. 658, which is a yellow-fld. 

 species. WM. THICKER and W. M. 



LIMNANTHES (Greek, marsh flower). Geraniacece. 

 Two or 3 species of American annuals growing near the 

 water. Low, diffuse, rather fleshy: Ivs. pinnate: fls. 

 white, yellow or rosy, solitary on axillary peduncles, 1 

 in. across: fls. regular, the parts in 5's; sepals valvate 

 in the bud; glands alternating with the petals; stamens- 

 10: carpels distinct, at first fleshy, at length hard and 

 wrinkled, indehiscent, separating from the short axis : 

 ovule solitary. 



Doiiglasi, R. Br. Lvs. pinnate; Ifts. sharply lobed or 

 parted ; lobes linear: petals oblong-spatulate, notched 

 at apex, more or less yellow, white toward the tip: fr. 

 smooth or slightly corrugated. Calif. B.M. 3554. B.R. 

 20:1673. 



LIMNOBIUM (living in pools, from the Greek). In- 

 cluding Tridnea. Hydrocharidacece. Three or four 

 American aquatic herbs, one of which is in the Amer. 

 trade. Sternless plants, spreading by means of runners, 

 the large leaves floating. Monoecious, the fls. arising 

 from spathes borne on the rootstock, the pistillate 

 single from a spathe and the staminate 2-4 from a 

 spathe, all with 6 white segments or petals, the inner 

 ones being very narrow; stamens in a column, bearing 

 anthers at unequal heights: ovary with several (6-9) 

 locules and as many stigmas, ripening into a many- 

 seeded berry. 



B6sci, Rich. (L. Sp6ngia, Steud.). AMERICAN FROG'S- 

 BIT (the European Frog's-bit is Hydrocharis). A neat 

 floating plant, with purplish, hanging, hairy roots and 

 long-stemmed, cordate or ovate Ivs. 1-2 in. long and 

 purplish beneath. Lake Ontario, south and west. Good 

 for the aquarium. 



Limnobium B6sci, while it is hardy southward, does 

 not appear to be so in New Jersey. Its mottled foliage 

 and silky rootlets are very attractive and make it valu- 

 able in the aquarium, but when grown out-of-doors in 

 summer in tubs or pools, it is very vigorous and soon 

 becomes crowded; the leaves, instead of floating, then, 

 appear in an erect state, the spongy condition of float- 

 ing leaves having disappeared, the plant havingnoneed 

 of such. It is really a floating plant, propagated by di- 

 vision of runners, and should not be placed in shallow 

 water, where it can readily root into the soil. 



Trianea Bogotense is mentioned as synonymous with 

 L. Bosci, but it is iriore sturdy in habit, of a lighter 

 color especially in winter does not make such long 

 runners, and forms more compact and attractive ro. 

 settes of leaves. WM. TRICKER and L. H. B. 



LIMNOCHAEIS (from Greek for swamp -loving}. 

 Alismacece. Four species according to the latest mon- 

 ographer (Micheli in DC. Monogr. Phaner. 3) in tropical 

 America. Perennial aquatic herbs, stoloniferous, with 

 ovate, petiolate, floating or emersed Ivs., and perfect, 

 with 3 outer and 3 inner parts, fertile stamens about 20, 

 and several or many ovaries. Excellent minor aquatics 

 for greenhouse culture or for planting out in warm 

 summer ponds. 



Humboldtii, Rich. (L. C6mmersoni, Spreng. L. 

 nymphdides, Micheli, Hydrdcleys C6mmersoni, Rich.). 

 WATER POPPY. Fig. 1294. Stem prostrate and rooting: 

 Ivs. broad-cordate-oval, thick, mostly floating: fls. and 



