NYMPHiEA RUBRA. 
(Red-flowered Water-Lily.) 
Clast. Order. 
POLYANDRIA. MONOGYNIA. 
Natural Order. 
NYMPHEACE M. 
Generic Character.— Calyx four or five-leaved, 
girding the base of the torus. Petals sixteen to twenty- 
eight, adnate to the torus, elevated above the ovary, 
and covering the same, and therefore at first sight 
appearing inserted in it. Stamens numerous, disposed 
in many series, inserted in a similar way above the 
petals. — Don's Gard. and Botany. 
Specific Character. — Plant a smooth aquatic 
perennial. Leaves floating, on long cylindrical foot- 
stalks, petiolate, toothed : under surface immaculate, 
and pubescent with prominent radiating veins. 
Flowers three to five inches wide. Petals purple, 
unequally formed. 
Synonyme. — Castalia magnifica. 
We may safely aver that, among the fine family of Water Lilies, few of the 
tropical kinds are more specious, or admit of culture more conveniently than 
N. rubra. The flowers certainly are a little inferior in dimensions to those of 
some of its congeners — though often much larger than our figure — but the intensity 
of their rich crimson-purple petals, and the smaller and less exuberant character of 
other parts, is more than a sufficient compensation. 
It is an oriental species, existing plentifully in Hindostan, where it is found 
growing in pools of fresh water, and not unfrequently in gently flowing rivers. 
The stem grows horizontally amongst the mud, protruding numerous fibrous roots 
all along its surface. The leaves are elevated on long stalks, and float on the 
surface of the water, their numbers increasing so rapidly in the growing season, as 
in a short time to form a beautiful olive-green carpet ; and when this is studded 
over with the richly coloured blossoms reclining on the bosom of the water, it must 
form a most lovely picture. But it is not alone for the beauty of the flowers that 
the plant is sought. The seeds are considered to form a wholesome and nutritious 
food, and are much esteemed by the natives, who eat them either in a raw state 
or boiled. In times of scarcity, other parts of the plant, especially the roots, 
are also eagerly sought after by the poorer classes. The flowers are said to be 
regarded with a superstitious veneration. 
We are indebted for its introduction to the late Sir Joseph Banks, Bart., 
who brought seeds to England about the beginning of the present century. That 
VOL. XI. NO, CXXXTI. 
M M 
