22 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PLANTS. 



it communicates in hot, dry weather, to giv 

 rise to dysentery among those who mak< 

 use of the water. Among fresh- water plants, 

 we should hardly forget to notice the pretty 

 yellow water-lily, (Ntipkar lutea,} and its still 

 more beautiful relative, the white water-lily, 

 (Nymphcea alba,} whose lovely pure white 

 blossoms and handsome floating leaves delight 

 the eye of many an observer. A tropical spe- 

 cies, (Nelumbium speciosum,) formerly common 

 in Egypt, but now said to be extinct there, 

 though still abounding in the placid waters 

 of India and Thibet, where it is held sacred, is 

 remarkable for the beauty of its fragrant rose- 

 coloured flowers, which somewhat resemble 

 those of the water-lily, but rise out of the 

 water, while the circular leaves, often two feet 

 broad, float on the surface. It is found also in 

 one spot near Astrakhan, but nowhere else in the 

 vast empire of Russia. This flower is believed 

 to be the " lotus " of the ancient Egyptians, and 

 is often represented on the monuments both of 

 that country and India. 



An interesting British aquatic, (Stratiotes 

 atoideSj) commonly called water- soldier, from its 

 sword-like leaves, remains beneath the water 

 during the greater part of the year, but at its 

 time of flowering raises itself to the surface, by 

 means of which the fructifying pollen is scat- 

 tered upon the stigmata. After flowering, the 

 plant sinks again. A still more curious means 

 of effecting the same object is found in the 

 Vallisneria, a foreign plant, which grows in 



