NYMPH EHACEA. 77 
sub-coriaceous, palmately-veined, roundish, with a deep sinus at the 
base ; lobes more than one-third the length of the leaf, approximate, 
often hiding the petiole. Flowers floating, cup-shaped, open. 
Sepals oblong, lanceolate, olive on the exterior, with the margins 
paler, pure white, like the petals, interiorly. Petals oval or elliptical, 
blunt, those of the outer whorl longer than the sepals, the interior 
ones becoming smaller towards the centre of the flower. Anthers and 
innermost filaments yellow. Stigmatic rays yellow. Fruit globose. 
Plant glabrous. Leaves all floating, green and shining above, dull 
and often purplish beneath. 
White Water-Lily. 
French, Vénuphar Blanc. German, Die Weise Seerose. 
Nymphea is derived from vypdn(nymphe), a water-nymph, in reference to the habita- 
tion of these plants. As the Rose is the queen of the bower, so undoubtedly the Lily is the 
empress of the lake, and we may almost endorse her poetical Indian name “ Camada,” 
or “ Delight of the Waters.” The lovely purity and delicacy of the White Water-Lily 
can scarcely be exaggerated, but perhaps it is only when seen in its favourite haunts 
in profusion and perfection that we can fully enter into the fervid descriptions of 
some of our British poets. In Japan, either natural or artificial White Water-Lilies 
are borne in the funeral processions of young persons, as emblems of purity. Like the 
sacred Lotus of the Nile, the flowers of our White Water-Lily rise and expand as the 
day advances and the sun gains strength, closing again at evening, sleeping as it were 
through the hours of darkness, until called into life again by the warm rays of light. 
Moore poetically describes this natural process :— 
“ Those virgin Lilies all the night 
Bathing their beauties in the lake, 
That they may rise more fresh and bright 
When their beloved sun ’s awake.” 
The stimulus of the sun’s rays seems to have relation to the fertilization of the plant. 
The pollen if scattered beneath the water would be washed away and decomposed, 
while on the expanded raised flower it is received without injury. This is truly the 
object for which— 
“The Water-Lily to the light 
: Her chalice rears of silver white. 
The Water-Lily may be transplanted from its native home by placing the thick 
rhizomes in baskets of earth and fastening stones to them, so as to keep them well under 
water, and nothing can be more lovely than a calm lake, on whose bosom may be seen 
floating numbers of these snowy nymphs. The thick stems have a bitter astringent 
taste, but are free from any poisonous qualities. In Ireland and the island of Java 
the tuberous rootstocks are used to dye a dark brown colour. They have been used in 
medicine, and esteemed narcotic. In China starch is obtained from them for dietetical 
purposes, 
