
24 PLANTS GROWING IN WATER. 
WATER-SHIELD. 
Brasenia purpurea. 
FAMILY COLOUR - ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 
Water-lily. Purple. Scentless. General. All summer. 
Flowers: small; axillary. Calyx and Coro//a: of three or four divisions. 
Stamens: twelve to eighteen, /vstz/s: four to eighteen. Leaves: on long 
petioles, peltate, two or three inches wide, floating. Rootstock : creeping. 
One of our interesting little aquatics that is fond of sluggish 
streams and ponds and not over careful about soiling its appear- 
ance on muddy shores, The lower side of its leaves and stems 
is covered with a sticky substance like jelly. 
WHITE WATER-LILY. WATER NYMPH. 
Castalia odorata. 
FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 
Water-lily. White or rose. Fragrant, General. All summer. 
Flowers: large; solitary. Calyx: of four to six sepals. Corol/a: of numer- 
ous petals in many concentric circles, the innermost passing gradually into 
stamens. Stamens: numerous. /2stz7/: one, having a many-celled ovary, the 
rounded top of which produces radiate stigmas around a central projection. 
Leaves: floating; orbicular, or rounded. Stems: hollow; long and round. 
Rootstock : thick; fleshy. 
The white water-lily is the most beautiful of the aquatics. 
Over the calm surface of the ponds it moves by means of its 
long, free stems as gracefully as many an animal. In fact, the 
habits of this lovely flower are not unlike those of the snails 
and beetles with which it dwells in its watery home. One of 
the most interesting features of aquatic life is the way that 
the plants care for themselves during the cold weather. In 
summer, the lily floats upon the surface of the water so as to 
attract the attention of the aquatic insects on which it relies 
for fertilization. Being untrammelled by space, it spreads its 
leaves out roundly to the sunshine and drinks in abundantly of 
life. The water serves well to float the leaves instead of the 
stalks that are necessary to aérial foliage. 
When the air is chilly with forebodings of frost and ice, the 
lily, having fulfilled its mission of reproducing itself and storing 

