330 Transactions of the American Institute. 



November 7, 1871. 



Nathan C. Ely, Esq., in the chair; Mr. John "W. Chambers, Secretary. 

 The "Yankepin Plant." 



C. "W". Spencer, M. D., Fillmore, Mo., sent a seed pod with a few extra 

 seeds of what is known in, his section as " Yankepins." The nuts 

 taste like oak acorns. " The plant grows in a shallow lake near here ; 

 the flowers are double ; color creamy white or pale buff ; petals fleshy ; 

 flower very fragrant ; blossoms June to September. I think it would 

 be a fine ornament for the shallow (one and a half to two and a half 

 feet deep) ponds in your parks. To get the plants, throw the seeds 

 into the water and they will take care of themselves. What is the 

 botanical name of it ? If Horace Greeley is present, hand him one of 

 the nuts and get him to tell what it is. I think he will call it an oak 

 acorn. They are much sought after by the children, hogs and geese 

 for food." 



Mr. A. S. Fuller — That plant belongs to the nymphceceaz or water 

 lily family. The scientific name of this particular species is nelum- 

 hium luteum or yellow nelumliwn. It is rarely found in the eastern 

 States, there being but three localities yet discovered where it appears 

 to be a native, viz. : Sodus Bay, N. Y., Lyme, Conn., and in one pond 

 below Philadelphia. At the west and south it is quite common, where 

 it is known as water chinquapin, probably because the seed resemble 

 the dwarf chestnut or chinquapin {castanea pumild) of the southern 

 States. The large fleshy roots or tubers send up long leaf and flower 

 stalks, their length depending entirely upon the depth of the water 

 in which they grow. The leaves are one to two feet broad and slightly 

 turned up at the edges. Flowers yellow, fragrant, five or more inches 

 broad ; sepals and petals many, gradually passing into each other. Sta- 

 mens numerous on the receptacle, which enlarges into a top-shaped body, 

 bearing ten or more ovaries (seed), which are each separately immersed 

 in as many hollows. The seed resemble small acorns, and are com- 

 posed of a fleshy, farinaceous substance. The' tubers or root stocks 

 are also edible. As soon as the ovaries are fertilized, the seed vessel 

 bends over and sinks below the surface, where the seeds mature and 

 then fall to the bottom. JVelumbium speoiosum is the celebrated 

 lotus or sacred bean of India, so frequently referred to by historians 

 and travelers in the east. Near to the nelmnbium are the nymphcea 

 or common pond lilies, of which we have two or three native species. 

 They are beautiful plants, similar in habit to the nelumbiums. 

 Nymphma cmrulea is the well known ' blue water lily of Egypt. 



