13 
BOTANICAL INDEX. 
la 1837, Sir Robert H. Schomburgk found the plant growing in the river Berbice, 
British Guiana, one hundred and twenty miles from the coast. Again, in 1842, af- 
ter a residence of five years, while on an exploring expedition for the Royal Brit- 
ish) Geographical Society of London, lie again met with it in the Rupnnuni, an 
affluent of the Essequibo, British Guiana. 
In 1845, Mr. Thomas Bridges found the plant growing in a small lake by the river 
Yacuna, a tributary of the Rio Mamore, near the town of Santa Ana. in the prov- 
ince of Moxos, Bolivia. 
In 1849, Mr. Spruce also found them growing in a lake on a large island, at the 
junction of the rivers Tapajoz and Amazon, and has given it a more careful and ac- 
curate description than any other 
traveler, and although many trav- 
elers have seen it since 1845, they 
usually came upon it unexpectedly 
and did not study its character 
with enough attention to add any- 
thing of value to the knowledge 
already obtained of it. 
As we have said it is such a dif- 
ficult plant to grow, we must give 
a brief notice of the ert'orts at cul- 
tivation. Although M. D’Orbigny 
sent seed to the Natural History 
Society of Paris in 1827, and M. 
Bonpland to the Garden of Plants, 
Paris, in 1835, none of them ap- 
pear to have been planted; at least, 
no record is made of the fact, for, 
indeed, they seem to have been 
neglected or overlooked for many 
years. When Sir Robert Schom- 
burgk first discovered the plant, (1837,) he made repeated efforts to introduce living 
plants into England, but each time failed; however, in August, 1846, Thomas Bridg- 
es forwarded the first seed to England that germinated. These seed were packed in 
a bottle of moist earth, and two plants started, but both plants perished during the 
following winter. On the 28th of February, 1849, Dr. Hugh Rodie, and Mr. Lachie, 
of Georgetown, Deinerara, forwarded seed to Sir W. J. Hooker, at the Kew Gardens, 
in phials of pure water, which, upon arrival, were planted in pots of earth and im- 
mersed in water and enclosed in a small, glass case with a tropical temperature, 
which germinated on the 23d of March. A portion of these were distributed to some 
of the most successful plant growers of England, and afforded the first opportunity 
for study under cultivation. 
The first plant grown in the United States was at Springbrook, near Philadel- 
phia, the residence of Caleb Cope, Esq., in 1851. The next was the plant grown 
by Mr. J. F. Allen, as already noticed. Since which time, there have been a num- 
ber grown to maturity, and many more attempts have been made, which proved a 
failure. At the present writing, the only plant, so far as we can learn of, is in the 
Water Lily House, of the Golden Gate park, at San Francisco. It has displayed its 
wonderful llowers to thousands of flower lovers of San Francisco lately, and bids 
fair to be a source of much enjoyment for some time to come. 
As we have given a history of its discovery and efforts at cultivation, it may not 
be amiss to reproduce a history of its name as given by Mr. Allen. Here we find 
that “M. Bonpland tells us the natives of Corrientes call it Mavz de l’Agua, — maize, 
corn or wheat of the water. D’Orbigny says the Guarani Indians call it Yrupe, — lit- 
erally, water platter. We have given at the bead of the article a list of synonyms 
of this species, and will only add here that Poppig described it as a Euryale, think- 
ing it generically identical with this genus as presented in the East Indies, but later 
botanists soon decided it to be distinct. (Generically, Victoria is most nearly allied 
to Euryale, but it is distinguished by the deciduous sepals, by the gradual transition 
in the form of the petals to that of the stamens, by the more numerous cavities of 
the ovary, ami other particulars. The leaf of Euryale is, however, an exact minia- 
ture copy of that of Victoria, save that it is not turned up at the margin. — Treasury 
of Botany.) Dr. Schomburgk considered it a typical Xymphcea, and so described it 
in a letter to the Royal Geographical Society, London, and wishing to commemorate 
the memory of his (adopted) Sovereign, Queen Victoria, he applied it to his new 
species as a specific name, to distinguish it from other species of Nymphiva. In 1837, 
John Lindley, Professor of Botany in University College, London, and one of the 
best authorities on aquatic or marsh plants, first assigned it to its present and correct 
position in the vegetable kingdom, by proposing Dr. Schomburgk’s specific name, 
