418 
BOTANICAL EXTRACTS. 
than they are usually considered, and will flourish in our gardens with 
very slight protection. 
“ Nelumbmrn speciosum. —The Pythagorean bean is supposed to 
have been the fruit of this plant—the water Lotus, formerly a native 
of Egypt, and other warm regions in Africa and Asia, but not to be 
found in the Nile, its most celebrated habitat of antiquity. It was 
called Cyamus by the ancients, and its present generic name is an 
alteration of the Cingalese word Nelumbo. 
“ The rhizoma, commonly called the creeping root, as well as the 
seeds, are eatable, and they are said to be both savoury and wholesome. 
In China, the plant is called Lein-faa, and the seeds and slices of the 
jointed rhizomas, with the kernels of apricots and walnuts, alternated 
with layers of ice, were frequently presented to the British ambassador 
and his suite at breakfasts given by some of the principal mandarins. 
The tubers are preserved by the Chinese in salt and vinegar for winter 
use. In Persia, Japan, and other countries, it is much esteemed as 
food, and its seeds manufactured to serve as bread. In China and 
Japan it is regarded as a sacred plant, considered to be a pleasing 
offering to their deities, and their idols are often figured sitting on its 
leaves. N. luteum, which is a native of America, has been naturalised 
in the ponds as far north as Philadelphia, and its fruit is much relished 
by the Indians and by children. 
“ Nymphia, Nuphar, and Euryale are allied genera; some of the 
former are highly ornamental aquatics, and the flowers of some are fra¬ 
grant, others are scentless, and those of Nuphar lutea have an alcoholic 
odour resembling brandy. They are also physiologically interesting 
from the varied elongations of their peduncles, to suit the varied depths 
of the waters in which they grow, and their almost sensitive irrita¬ 
bility, which causes their daily elevation above the surface of the 
water, and the expansion of their petals during the sunshine, and the 
nocturnal collapse of the flowers, with their drooping heads, which, in 
some instances, lie down on the shield-like leaves, and in others retire 
below the surface of the water during the night, but again emerge on 
the coming of day. 
“ Ficus Carica .—The common fig, and F. elasiica , or Indian-rubber 
tree, are the most important species of the genus; the former is a 
dietetic plant; the latter for the caoutchouc, with which it abounds. 
Several other species, both of this and kindred genera, yield this valu¬ 
able and curious substance, which is daily becoming of more and more 
economical importance. Even now, (1835,) although for such a short 
time known, and for a still shorter time rendered generally subservient 
to the arts, a volume might be written on the purposes to which it is 
applicable, or has been already applied. 
