NUPHAR 



THE BULB BOOK 



NYMPHjEA 



NUPHAR (from naufar, the Arabic 

 for Water Lily). Nat. Ord. Nymphae- 

 aceae. — A small genus of aquatic 

 plants closely related to the Water 

 Lilies proper (Nymphwa), having 

 thick fleshy root - stocks, roundish 

 heart-shaped leaves deeply lobed at 

 the base, and large yellow flovfers 

 with numerous petals and stamens 

 surrounding a peltate rayed stigma in 

 the centre. The culture is exactly 

 the same as described below for 

 Nymph^a. 



N. advenum. — A native of the 

 lakes, ponds, and ditches of N. 

 America, having large yellow flowers 

 with red anthers to the stamens {Bot. 

 Mag. t. 684, as NymphcBa). 



N. luteam. — This is the Yellow 

 Water Lily or "Brandy Bottle" of 

 Britain. It has roundish deeply 



Fig. 282. — Nuphar luieum. 



lobed leaves 8 to 12 ins. across, and 

 produces its sweet - scented yellow 

 flowers from June to August slightly 

 above the surface of the water. 



N. pumllum {Nymphma Ealmiana). 

 — This species is found wild not only 

 in Britain, but also over Arctic and 

 Central Europe and Asia. It is like 

 N. luteum, but is smaller in all parts, 

 and has eight to ten rays to the 

 stigma instead of ten to thirty. {Bot. 

 Mag. t. 1243.) 



NYMPHffi A (from nymphe, a water- 

 nymph), Watee Lily. Nat. Ord. 

 Nympliseacese. — A genus containing 

 between forty and fifty species of 

 water-plants, with thickish fleshy 

 roots, roundish leaves lobed at the 

 base, and solitary flowers on fleshy 

 stalks, on, or some little distance 

 above, the surface of the water. The 

 flowers have four sepals, numerous 

 petals gradually becoming smaller 

 from the outside inwards and passing 

 into stamens. Carpels numerous, 

 sunk in a fleshy disc forming a many- 

 celled ovary surmounted by radiating 

 stigmas, and ultimately ripening into 

 a spongy berry under water. 



The Water Lilies must be divided 

 into hardy, half-hardy, and tender 

 kinds, but they all require water and 

 a rich muddy soil to flourish. Loam 

 and old cow-manure make a good 

 compost. The hardy kinds grow in 

 the open air in lakes, ponds, or 

 streams, the best-known representa- 

 tive being the common white-flowered 

 British Water Lily {N. alba). The 

 half-hardy ones — generally hybrids 

 between the hardy and tender kinds 

 — grow well enough in the open air 

 during the summer months, but they 

 are usually placed in tanks of water 

 in which arrangements have been 

 made to supply artificial heat if 

 necessary by hot-water pipes. The 

 root-stocks for open-air work are 

 usually placed in wicker baskets, 

 embedded in the stifiish loam and 

 manure, and carefully dropped into 

 the bottom of the lake, pond, or 



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