This is the name of an aquatic plant of the genus _Nymphæa_,
distinguished for its usually very fragrant flowers and large, floating
leaves; applied also to the yellow pond lily of the genus _Nuphar_.
The species alba has a large flower filled with petals, so as almost
to appear double; it raises itself out of the water and expands about
seven o'clock in the morning, and closes again, reposing upon the
surface, about four in the afternoon. The roots have an astringent,
bitter taste. They are used in Ireland and in the island of Jura to dye
a dark brown or chestnut color. Swine are said to eat it, goats not to
be fond of it, kine and horses to refuse it. The flowers, the herb, and
the root were formerly used in medicine, but are all now obsolete.
The lotus resembles our common white species in the form of the
flower and leaves, but the latter are toothed about the edge. It is a
native of the hot parts of the East Indies, Africa, and America, is
very common in parks, lakes, and rivers in Jamaica and grows in vast
quantities on the plains of lower Egypt, near Cairo, during the time
they are under water. It flowers there about the middle of September
and ripens toward the 12th of October. The Arabians call it _nuphar_.
The ancient Egyptians made a bread of the seed of the lotus dried and
ground.
All the species of water lilies grow well in large pots of water
with a few inches of rich soil at the bottom. They are propagated by
dividing the root, and some sorts which produce bulbs are increased
by the offshoots from these. Mr. Kent, who cultivated these plants to
great perfection, found that the bulbous-rooted nymphæa, if limited in
their growth for want of water, or from cold or excessive heat, were
apt to form bulbous roots and cease growing for the season. Hence the
necessity of water and heat to make them flower freely.
The plant known especially in this country as the water lily,
frequently as pond lily and sometimes as water nymph, was dedicated by
the Greeks to the water nymphs. The fruit, which ripens under water,
is berry-like, pulpy and thin, and each of its numerous seeds is
enveloped in a thin sac. Of about twenty species two are found in the
United States. Our common species has almost circular leaves, which
often cover a broad surface of water on the margins of lakes and ponds,
forming what are known as lily pads. The flowers are often over five
inches across, of the purest white, and have a most agreeable sweet
scent. In some localities the flowers are tinged with pink, and they
are found, though rarely, with the petals bright pink throughout.
The leaves also vary in size and sometimes are crimson on the under
side. The root stalk, as large as one's arm and several feet long,
is blackish outside and marked with scars left by the leaves and
flower-stems; it is whitish within. Though the plant often grows in
water several feet deep, the leaf and flower accommodate themselves to
the depth, and they may sometimes be found where there are but a few
inches of water.
At a place called Dutchman's Slough, we are informed by Mr. George
Northrup, about half a mile above the outlet of Calumet Lake, south
of Chicago, grow great quantities of water lilies, which are gathered
every season for the Chicago market.