BOTANICAL IMDEX. 
75 
native habitat ami forwarded to the celebrated new plant merchants, James Veitch 
& Sons, London, England, and who have Succeeded in growing them to maturity 
and exhibiting a superb specimen of it in tlower at the exhibition of the Royal Hor- 
ticultural Society at South Kensington, (England,) May llith, 1871). We give a fig- 
ure of the plant and 
flower, taken from 
The Garden , as also 
their description, 
which says: “Asa 
species it is allied 
to the very few 
which are charac- 
terized by their 
shield -shaped 
leaves of leathery 
texture, and meas- 
uring 15 inches in 
diameter, and by 
erect stems. The 
flower stems are 
about a foot high, 
b r a nching a n d 
bearing saucer- 
shaped, pure white 
or cream - colored 
flowers four inches 
across, with a cen- 
tral tuft of golden- 
yellow stamens. 
The Chelsea speci- 
mens (on exhibi- 
tion) are necessari- 
ly in an immature 
state of develop- 
ment, and in their 
present condition 
they considerably 
resemble Nelum- 
bivm speciosurn in 
miniature, except 
that the flowers are 
of the purest white, 
with the central 
tuft of golden-yel- 
low stamens which 
much enhance 
their chaste beauty. 
Its native habitat 
is in moist places 
in the Southern 
Alps of the Middle 
Island, (New Zea- 
land,) where it is 
said to attain a 
great size. As it is 
found at consider- 
able elevations, we 
may presume it is 
(juite hardy in our 
climate, and now 
that such satisfac- 
Fii;. 203. Ranunculus Lyaiu. tory success has at- 
tended its culture, after so many repeated attempts at various times to grow it, we 
hope that such a desirable acquisition will never hereafter be lost to our gardens. 
