NUPHAR LUTEA. 
189 
Nuphar^ therefore, require to be more accurately deter- 
mined. As to the petioles, they can furnish no character, 
being two-edged in all ; and the approximation of the lobes 
of the leaves is scarcely of importance ; the same, of course, 
must be said of the vinous odour. 
It may further be remarked, that the specific name lutea 
is not the most eligible, when there are two species to which 
it might be applied with equal propriety ; and the seed- 
vessel is by no means a herry^ being simply a thick cap- 
sule, with pulpy dissepiments, but having no gelatinous or 
pulpy mass in which the seeds are imbedded. The necta- 
ries on the back of the petals have not been noticed, in as 
far as I know ; and the stigma can scarcely be called ses- 
sile, when between it and the germen there intervenes a 
neck of considerable size. 
Many of our plants exhibit variations similar to the 
above, even in their native situations. The Polygonum 
viviparum, for instance ; and the Thymus serpyllum loses 
its aromatic smell on the summits of the Hebridian moun- 
tains. Nymphaa alba experiences occasionally a similar 
diminution in size ; and I have seen the leaf not more than 
three inches in diameter, but in this case all the parts retain 
their original form. It will not be surprising if at least 
some of the localities of our Scottish N. minima be found 
to present a diminutive variety of N. lutea. The observa- 
tions, however, which are to determine this point, can only 
be made by those who have it in their power to compare 
the varieties, by studying them in their native situation. 
