. A history of the vegetable kingdom; embracing the physiology of plants, with their uses to man and the lower animals, and their application in the arts, manufactures, and domestic economy. Illus. by several hundred figures. Botany; Botany, Economic; 1855. WATER LILY. ."597 more curious than beautiful, a native of Carolina. The root is scaly, nearly resembling a bulb, and not prolific in fibres. The leaves have the petiole winged, like the orange; and the extreme part, which may be called the proper leaf, is formed into two halves, which move on a central hinge,. Venu3 Fly Trap. and fold
. A history of the vegetable kingdom; embracing the physiology of plants, with their uses to man and the lower animals, and their application in the arts, manufactures, and domestic economy. Illus. by several hundred figures. Botany; Botany, Economic; 1855. WATER LILY. ."597 more curious than beautiful, a native of Carolina. The root is scaly, nearly resembling a bulb, and not prolific in fibres. The leaves have the petiole winged, like the orange; and the extreme part, which may be called the proper leaf, is formed into two halves, which move on a central hinge,. Venu3 Fly Trap. and fold up and contract on the slightest contact with any substance. The edges are beset with spines, and the surface is covered with a glutinous mucilage. The flowers grow in a corymb, resembling an umbel. When flies alight on the extremities of the leaves, the contact of their feet produces sufficient irritation to make the two halves contract suddenly and firmly, by which the fly is crushed and pressed to the glutinous sides, to which it is fixed until it dies. LinnsEus affirms, that when the entrapped insect ceases to struggle, and is quiet, the leaf opens and permits it to escape; while Ellis, on the other hand, says, that the globes never open again so long as the animal continues tliere. He thinks it probable that a sweet liquor discharged by the red glands, tempts the insect to its de- struction; and adds, that if a straw or pin be introduced between the lobes, they will grasp it as fast as if it were an insect. This plant is rather difficult to raise. Accord- ing to Sweet, it thrives best in a pot of sphag- num, with a little mould at the bottom of the pot, and placed in a pan of water. In all cases, it is necessary that the plants be supplied with fresh cool air. Water Li ly. Nt/mpliea; polt/andria, monogvnia, of LinniEus. This genus contains several beau- tiful species, which are aquatic plants, growing in ponds and slow running streams. The com- mon water lily (n. alhaj, h
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