WATER LILIES 



Some Historical and Cultural Notes 



G. H. PRIMG, :: Missouri Botanical Gardens 



Nature's Lily Pond 



4. 



The cultivation of water lilies is one 

 of the most fascinating branches of hor- 

 ticulture. This is undoubtedly enhanced 

 by their exquisite flowers and the import- 

 ant feature of water in beautifying the 

 landscape. Water gardening holds an 

 important place in our parks and private 

 estates. Unfortunately, however, a fal- 

 lacy prevails in supposing that water 

 lilies in general demand large bodies of 

 water, combined with expert knowledge 

 of cultivation. On the contrary, an ordi- 

 nary half -barrel is large enough to grow 

 a representative of certain varieties. The 

 cultivation is an easy matter, providing a 

 few rules are followed, which will be dis- 

 cussed later. 



The history of water lilies dates from 

 the ancient Egyptians, who held the so- 

 called Egyptian Lotus as a sacred flower. 

 It was also deemed sacred by the natives 

 of India, China and Japan, being to a 



greater extent still employed in religious 

 invocations and ceremonies. 



Beauty of flower was not the only 

 quality possessed by the Nelumbium 

 which compelled the admiration and ven- 

 eration of the ancients, for the plant had 

 utilitarian properties that appealed to 

 them, rendering it of considerable eco- 

 nomic importance. The root stocks and 

 seeds were prepared and eaten as food 

 by the inhabitants of China, India and 

 Australia. In Cary's translation of Hero- 

 dotus, it is recorded as follows : "But to 

 obtain food more easily, they have the 

 following inventions : When the river is 

 full, and has made the plains like a sea, 

 great numbers of lilies, which the Egyp- 

 tians call Lotus, spring up in the water; 

 these they gather and dry in the sun; 

 then, having pounded the middle of the 

 Lotus, which resembles a poppy, they 

 make bread of it and bake it. The root 



