NYMPHEA FLAVA,—AUDUBON’S YELLOW WATER-LILY. 123 
general appearance, the chief distinction being in the connection 
of the seeds with the placenta, or material out of which the 
seeds seem to grow. In the true Wymphea there is a fleshy 
matter proceeding from the placenta between it and the seed, 
called the arillus, which in Mymphea encloses the seed. In 
Nuphar this is wanting. There are other differing characters 
in the pistil, the stamens, and the petals, but not greater than 
we often find in the sub-divisions of other genera. 
Supposing the subject of our chapter to have been the same 
species as Leitner saw, we may speak of it as re-discovered by 
Mrs. Treat, and her account of the event is extremely interesting. 
“In the valley by the river 
In the bosom of the forest” 
she found herself ready for a journey up the St. John’s, and she 
says: “On my excursion in the row-boat I was attracted to the 
nearest cove, where acres of the water were covered by a beau- 
tiful variegated leaf of a strange water-lily, which bore a yellow 
flower. I saw it was a Vymphea, but its manner of growth and 
its whole appearance were so unlike our white water-lily, that I 
knew it must be a distinct species, of which no mention was 
made in the Text-Books of Gray or Chapman.” By the help of 
Dr. Gray and Professor C. S. Sargent, it was identified with 
Audubon’s plate. Describing its growth, Mrs. Treat says: “The 
beautiful leaves lie thick upon the water; and in May, when the 
flowers appear, it is one of the grandest sights] ever beheld. It 
grows in water from one to five feet deep, the length of the leaf 
stems and flower scapes depending on the depth of the water. 
How far it extends remains to be seen, I have traced it about 
forty miles along the St. John’s, and it grows all about Jackson- 
ville, thirty-five miles below us. How it has so long escaped the 
botanist is a mystery.” ; 
But not only the lovers of nature in her popular aspects, and 
as she may present them to us in forest or lake, have to thank 
Mrs. Treat for this re-discovery of Audubon’s “Golden Water- 
