44 
VISITS TO MADAGASCAR. 
CHAP. II. 
branching or forked flower is curious ; but the structure of the 
leaf is peculiarly so, and seems like a living fibrous skeleton 
rather than an entire leaf. The longitudinal fibres extend in 
curved lines along its entire length, and are united by thread¬ 
like fibres or veins, crossing them at right angles from side to 
side, at a short distance from each other. The whole leaf 
looks as if composed of fine tendrils, wrought after a most 
regular pattern, so as to resemble a piece of bright green lace 
or open needlework. Each leaf rises from the crown on the 
root like a short delicate-looking pale green or yellow fibre, 
gradually unfolding its feathery-looking sides, and increas¬ 
ing its size as it spreads beneath the water. The leaves in 
their several stages of growth pass through almost every gra¬ 
dation of colour, from a pale yellow to a dark olive green, 
becoming brown or even black before they finally decay; air 
bubbles of considerable size frequently appearing under the 
full-formed and healthy leaves. It is scarcely possible to ima¬ 
gine any object of the kind more attractive and beautiful than 
a full-grown specimen of this plant, with its dark green leaves 
forming the limit of a circle two or three feet in diameter, and 
in the transparent water within that circle presenting leaves in 
every stage of development, both as to colour and size. Nor 
is it the least curious to notice that these slender and fragile 
structures, apparently not more substantial than the gossamer 
and flexible as a feather, still possess a tenacity and wiriness 
which allow the delicate leaf to be raised by the hand to the 
surface of the water without injury. 
I succeeded in conveying this plant safely to Mauritius, 
where it was preserved for more than a year, and seemed to 
thrive best in running water at a temperature of about 74°. I 
was happy to present specimens of it to M. Bojer, and to Mr. 
Duncan, the director of the Eoyal Botanical Gardens at Pam- 
plemouses. At the Cape of Good Hope Mr. M c Gibbon kindly 
took charge of it during my absence on a journey of nearly 
