ON AQUATIC PLANTS. 



911 



a whitish colour tinged with blue; the small oblong-shaped leaves 

 are of a deep green, marked on the upper surface with dark 

 brown spots ; it is a very desirable plant of moderate growth. 

 JY. Jlava, a native of Florida, has clear yellow flowers below 

 medium size ; the leaves are small, deep green, and irregularly 

 blotched with reddish - brown. It is of slender growth but 

 increases rapidly by means of tubercles formed on the long 

 slender rhizomes ; the stoloniferous growth that it freely 

 produces should be removed to encourage it to flower with 

 more freedom. It is sometimes grown in the open air in this 

 country but is scarcely hardy, and being a very shy blossomer 

 at its best, it does not merit inclusion in other than botanical 

 collections. 



JV. gigantea (Australian Water Lily) is one of the handsomest 

 and most distinct species in the genus. The beautiful deep, 

 cup-shaped flowers are of the largest size, and contain a great 

 number of petals of a lovely rich clear blue, with numerous 

 yellow incurved stamens, none of which are petaloid (as is 

 usually the case in other kinds); the leaves are large and of a 

 pale green. It is rather difficult to manage compared with many 

 other sorts : to grow it satisfactorily it requires very liberal 

 treatment, a high and uniform temperature, a good depth of 

 water above its crown in which to grow, and as little 

 disturbance as possible. This treatment will ensure a vigorous 

 plant and large flowers, suggestive of the appropriateness of the 

 specific name it bears. N. gracilis^ a native of Mexico, has 

 sweetly - scented white flowers which are freely produced ; the 

 petals are long and pointed, which gives to the blossom a pretty 

 star-like appearance. It is of vigorous habit, and a very 

 desirable species. N. mexka?ia, as its specific name implies, is 

 a native of Mexico. It very closely resembles JV. Jlava in 

 habit of growth and other respects, the chief differences 

 lying in its greater freedom of flowering, and in the flowers 

 being a shade deeper in colour, which trifling distinctions 

 perhaps scarcely entitle it to specific rank. N. micrantha 

 is a native of Western Africa, with whitish - coloured flowers 

 below medium size ; it is of moderate growth, and remark- 

 ably distinct from any other species, owing to its producing 

 viviparous buds in the angle of the lobes of the leaves on the 

 upper surface, which eventually develop into separate plants. 

 N. pulcherrima^ a hybrid of American origin, is held in high 

 estimation by horticulturists in the United States ; it is described 

 as being of vigorous habit and very floriferous, with very large 

 light blue flowers, which open early in the morning and remain 

 expanded longer during the day than most other kinds. 



N. stellata {^N. arriiiea), a native of tropical Asia and Africa, 

 is the blue Lotus held sacred by the ancient Egyptians ; it has 

 sweetly-scented medium-sized star-shaped flowers of a pale blue, 



