SWEET-SMELLING PLANTS 



83 



in all collections. They are distributed tlii'oughoiit the siil3-tropical 

 parts of Asia, Africa, and America. N. speciosum, the Egyptian 

 Lotus, also known as the sacred Lotus of the East, is a notable 

 kind which has been cultivated from time iimnemorial, for its rosy 

 red and pure white flowers, which are delightfully fragrant. In 

 ancient mythological representations of nature this charming flower 

 was the emblem of the great generative and conceptive power of 

 the world, ser^i.ng as the head-dress of the sphinxes and the orna- 

 ment of Lis. The flowers, which resemble gigantic Tea Eoses, are 

 produced on foot-stalks sometimes six feet in length. The American 

 Nelumbium, N. luteum, bears rich sulphur-yellow flowers, whilst 

 the Japanese possess a white -flowering kind, N. nuclferum album, 

 both deliciously scented. The whole group can be raised from seeds 

 or tubers. The ease with which the Xelumbiums and Xymphaaas 

 are cultivated, the magnificent flowers of great variety of form 

 and colour, their delicate perfume, and the great fascination in 

 growing them, is making the water garden widely popular. 



Nemesia floribunda. — An herbaceous annual from South Africa, with 

 parti- coloured flowers of pleasing scent. There are other greatly 

 unproved forms, notably N. strumosa, a newly introduced strain, 

 calling for little conmient from a fragrant point of ^i.ew. 



Nepeta suaveolens {Cat Mint). — A hardy plant, used in rockwork and 

 edgings. N. graveolens is another scented variety ; both kinds, 

 from the peculiarity of their odour, are a great attraction to cats. 



Nephrodium. — A genus of Ferns, natives of warm countries, of which 

 N. pallidum cristatum is an elegant crested variety, yielding a 

 delicious perfume, especially when in a moist atmosphere. N. 

 fragrans, a hardy variety of neat form, also possesses scented 

 attractions. 



Nerium odorum {Oleander). — An Indian slirub, bearing bunches of 

 elegant pink or white salver-shaped blossoms, delicately perfumed 

 with the odour of Ahnonds, which scents the aii^ for a distance 

 around. It is a common ornament in the gardens of ITpper India, 

 where its elegance is greatly appreciated. 



Nicotiana affinis. — A sweet-scented variety of the Tobacco plant of 

 conunerce from Eastern Asia. The plant is an herbaceous perennial, 

 and bears a profusion of pure white star-shaped tubular flowers 

 that emit a delicious perfume towards evening ; indeed its beauty 

 is scarcely apparent during the day, as the flowers do not appear 

 at their best until the sun is on the wane. It makes an attractive 

 plant for greenliouse culture, where it fills the atmosphere with its 

 powerfully scented attractions. N. p)ersica, X. iradulata, and X, 

 noctiflora are also night -flowering and daintily perfumed. 



