NYMPHAEACEAE 217 



The family contains some of the most famous 

 ornamental plants. 



Victoria regia, which inhabits shallow rivers of the 

 Amazon valley, possesses leaves up to 2 yards and flowers 

 16 to 20 inches in diameter. 



Nelumbo nucifera, the Indian lotos, has rosy flowers ; 

 its seeds are used as food like those of the Victoria. 



Fig. 96. Nymphaea stellata Willd. in the Vlei near Retreat. With Typha australis and 

 Cladium Mariscus. CThe shore of the lake occupied by plantations of Acacia saligna. 



Nymphaea Lotus, the white lotos of the ancient 

 Egyptians*, sometimes called "lotus," opens its delicate, 

 pure white flowers only for a few hours at night. 



Nymphaea stellata, the blue lotos, which is equally 

 often represented on Egyptian monuments and sometimes 

 described as a separate species, viz. N. coerulea, has a wide 

 range, occurring in India as well as Africa. 



* "When the Nile floods the lands many lilies appear which are called ''lotos' by 

 the Egyptians. The fruit resembles the head of a poppy, and the seeds are ground and 

 baked into bread." Herodotus. 



28—2 



