204 SYSTEMATIC BOTANY. 



Monocotyledonous stems ; the habit relates them to the Hydrocharidaceae ; 

 and the structure of the ovaries indicates some affinity with Alismacese. 

 When, however, we regard the Dicotyledonous embryo and its germination, 

 the quaternary or quinary plan of the flowers, and the netted ribbing of the 

 leaves, together with the close relation to the Dicotyledonous Orders above 

 named, the balance of characters is strongly in favour of its reference to 

 this class. Nymphaeaceae are very interesting in structural respects as, 

 for example, in the anomalous condition of the rhizomes, the remarkable 

 development of the leaves in Victoria, the curious succession of forms 

 between petals and stamens in the flowers of Nymphaa and Victoria, the 

 various degrees of development of the disk and enlarged receptacle, 

 ranging from Nuphar with a superior ovary to Victoria with its ovary 

 sunk in the receptacle and its stamens and envelopes raised on an 

 annular disk, the seeds growing all over the dissepiments, and in the 

 peculiar condition of the albumen. Barclay a has united petals. 



Distribution. A small family of 4 or 5 genera and 30 to 40 species, 

 which are distributed throughout the world, more rarely in the southern 

 hemisphere. 



Qualities and Uses. These plants are said, on doubtful authority, to 

 be sedative and narcotic. More important characters arise from the pre- 

 sence of starch in the seeds of various kinds of Nympheea, of Euryale and 

 Victoria, which are used as food. The rhizomes of some Nymphaeas are 

 eiten in Scinde, others in Western Africa. Among the most remarkable 

 plants of the Order is the Victoria reaia, a native of the rivers of equa- 

 torial America, with its enormous circular leaves and beautiful flowers. 

 Our native Water-lilies, the white (Nymph&a alba] and yellow (Nuphar 

 lutea)) are both striking objects, and the cultivated Nymplia-a car-idea and 

 the crimson N. rubra illustrate the brilliancy and variety of colour in this 

 beautiful Order. N. gigantea, a blue-flowered Australian species, has 

 flowers almost as large a's those of the Victoria. 



CABOMBACEJE, consisting of only two species, of the genera Cabomba 

 and Brasenia (Hydropeltis) , are sometimes separated from Nymphaeaceae, 

 of which they are a reduced form, with definite sepals and petals, hypo- 

 gynous stamens, distinct carpels provided with styles, inserted on a 

 flattened torus, and containing one or two ovules on the dorsal suture. 

 They are closely allied to Ranunculaceas, but differ in the embryo 

 enclosed within a double albumen. Both genera occur in America, and 

 Brasenia also in the East Indies and Australia. 



NELUMBIACE/E are large aquatic plants, like Water-lilies, but with 

 distinct carpels, forming acorn-shaped nuts separately imbedded in cavities 

 of a large top-shaped thalamus. Seeds solitary, aperispermic. This 

 Order consists apparently of the two species of the one genus Nelumbium 

 N. speciosum, supposed to be the Sacred Egyptian Bean, found throughout 

 the East Indies, but no longer met with in Egypt, and N. luteum in North 

 America. They are nearly related to Nymphaeacese, through Cabombaceae ; 

 and both are included in that family by Bentham and Hooker. The 

 enlarged receptacle of the flower is very curious, and the peltate leaves 

 raised above the water on long stalks are remarkable objects. The nuts 



