LIMNANTHEMUM 



Including 

 About 20 



species of aquatic plants, widely scattered in tropical 

 and temperate regions. They have 5-petaled white or 

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

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

 base, rarely peltate, with a closed sinus, entire or 

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

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

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

 from Menyanthes by having the capsule 4-valved in- 

 stead of irregularly 2-valved. Four hardy kinds are 

 procurable from dealers in aquatics and native plants. 



Limnantheraunis are most iiseful ornamental aquatic 

 plants, and are ri'pn -rut. -1 in i-nltivation by but four 

 species. L.hic\iii"-i" - i i..:.|.- ■ lli-art-is the hardi- 

 est of American s|.i'! -(I. variegated leaves, 

 about 2 in. broad, :ii. , 'nc, regardless of its 

 dainty, white, niiiii;iii:! il. ,,- i-. It is best grown un- 

 der natural conditions, in puols and still water, and in 

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

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

 center. L. tracliysjiermum, ...iiimonly known as the 

 Fairy Water-Lily, is a mu.-b -i i ..i jm' - n ^ . i : h -. 'lrr|, 

 green, and, when grown in ; ' i-' 

 proportions,4-6in. broad, and i , , , , i -, 

 more like flakes of snow. 1 1 i > i i ; ■ i 1 1 . u I 

 ture, similar to the precr.ln . , i / / w,/, 

 commonly called Water Sn.i i' I i 'in- 

 most interesting and attract i - ' - nf 

 most general cultivation. Tl;. ■ ; ;_ ; _ nu 

 color, heart-.shaped, and it \.r.'A:\:-' ~ i!...v.i~ m -i.ater 

 abundance, which are much larger and covm-d com- 

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

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

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

 tion, they are produced in such quantities that there is 

 never 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 proliferousuess 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. iraclnjapermutn 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 

 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 flu. iirJlcic. 

 B. Fls. accompanied hij cIksIci-s of tubers. 

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

 purplish beneath, 1-2 in. long: fls. :!-0 lines across; 

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

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

 B.B.2:622. 



EB. F!s. not accompanied by clusters oftubers. 



nympholdes, Hoffnig. and Link. (Also written i. 



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



more ; segments obcordate, short-fringed. MayJuly. 



LIMNOCHARIS 



925 



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

 2:02:). Gn. 24, p. 535. — Simulates Limnocharis Hum- 

 boldtii in habit. 



AA. Color of fls. white. 



B. Seeds rough. 



trachyspfermum, Gray. Stouter and larger than i. 



lactninsKiii : lvs. c.inhitc i.rl.icnil;ir, thick, entire or re- 



pand, 2-i; in. l"ni.'. s|i.Mii.'y: tuli.rs thi.k: fls. 6-10 lines 



—"Fairy Water Lily" is a nurst-ry catalogue name. 

 BB. Seeds smooth. 

 Indicum, Thw. Water Snowplake. 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. -^m. Thicker and W. M. 



LIMNANTHES (Gn 



Two or 3 species of An 

 water. Low, diffuse, 

 white, yellow or rosy. 

 ?gula 



r). Geranidcece. 

 -rowing near the 

 s. pinnate: fls. 

 ary peduncles, 1 

 .y .s ; sepals valvate 



in tin- l>nil : glands alternating with the petals 



111: laipi N ilistinct, at first fleshy, at length hard and 



wrinkl.d. indehiscent, separating from the short axis: 



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.3o54. B.R. 

 20:1673. 



LIMNOBIUM {Uviiifi i>i pools, from the Greek). In- 

 cluding Tr,.)ii,'i. HyilrocharidAceiv. Three or four 

 AiiHTii 111 :M|U:iih' in ihs, one of which is in the Anier. 

 trail. , ~ I . i nils, spreading by means of runners, 



thi- III. ' ating. Monoecious, the fls. arising 



fruni iii I,. - i on the rootstock, the pistillate 



single ln'oi a si.aihe and the starainate 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 (0-9) 

 locules and as many stigmas, ripening into a many- 

 seeded berry. 



B68cl, Rich. (i. Sp6ngia,^tenA.). 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 lvs. 1-2 in. long and 

 purplish beneath. Lake Ontario, south and west. Good 

 for the aquarium. 



Lim)wbiit»i 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 tl-mtintr, tlien 

 appear in an erect state, the spon^'v ."n.liti.m cf filiat- 

 ing leaves having disappeared, th.- plant li,i\ ihl' ii<i mi d 

 of such. It is really a floating jilani, I'M'pa^at. a liv .li- 

 vision of runners, and should nut 111- plartil in slialLiw 

 water, where it can readily root into the soil. 



Tricoiea Bogntense is mentioned as synonvmous with 

 L. Bosei, but it is more sturdy in habit, of a lighter 

 color-especiallv in winter-does not make such long 

 nmners. and forms more compact and attractive ro. 

 settes of leaves. ^^ji. Thicker and L. H. B. 



LIUN6CHABIS (from Greek for swamp-loving). 

 AlismAcece. Foul- spi.i.-s ac.-ording to the latest mon- 

 ographer (Mi.-l.i li 111 !>r. Mon.igr. Phaner. 3) in tropical 

 America. Pit. innal a.iiiaih- lierbs, stoloniferous, with 

 ovate, petiolati-, tlnatiiiL.' .n- .-mersed lvs., 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. 



Hiimholdtii, Rich. {L. Cimmersoni, Spreng. L. 

 viimphdides, Micheli. Hydrdcleys <7(im merson t. Rich.). 

 Water Poppt. Fig. 1294. Stem prostrate and rooting: 

 lvs. broad-oordate-oval, thick, mostly floating: fls. and 



