SPATTERDOCK 



Njmphaea advena Solander 



Spatterdocks, sometimes called yellow pondlilies, abound along the 

 banks of sluggish streams and ponds. We usually think of them as 

 coarse plants, though Longfellow, having in mind the northern spat- 

 terdock with its floating leaves, tells us that Hiawatha's canoe 



. . . floated on the river 

 Like a yellow leaf in autumn, 

 Like a yellow water-lily. 



Indeed, with other plants that like to have their roots in the mud, 

 they hide much that is unlovely on the borders of streams. The seeds 

 of a closely related species of the Pacific Coast furnished an important 

 food for the Indians. 



This species of spatterdock has a wide range, extending from Flor- 

 ida to Texas and northward to southern New York and Wisconsin. 

 Closely related species occur almost throughout the United States, 

 and in Canada, Alaska, and Europe. 



The specimen sketched grew near Washington, District of Columbia. 



PLATE I59 



