96 WATER-LILIES 



delphia even, but does well in its chief habitat, 

 Cape Cod. One of the Marliac group, 

 called N. exquisita, is a more vigarous and 

 more floriferous variety. 



THE DEEP RED WATER-LILIES 



The flowers of the deep-red varieties are 

 more or less cup-shaped, /. e., the petals 

 are erect and concave. From a pale pink 

 on the outermost petals the colour deepens 

 toward the centre of the flower to a deep 

 crimson. The stamens are crimson or deep 

 orange red on the outer face, with bright- 

 orange or yellow anther cells. In full sun- 

 shine the effect is rich and striking. The 

 plants are strong growers for the most part, 

 but slow to propagate. They produce a 

 fine circle of large round leaves and a goodly 

 number of their magnificent blooms, which 

 often reach five or six inches across. 



The splendid colouring of this group is 

 derived from the Swedish water-lily {N. alba, 

 var. rubra), which is very hard to tame. It 



