. Carnegie Institution of Washington publication. TAXONOMY—LOTOS. 193 NOTES.—Tlie following species differ chiefly in color of leaf and flower, in shape of leaf, and in production of seed. It is stated in Hooker & Thomson (1855) that all gradations in color occur in India from the white to the deep-red forms; they therefore united them into one species, N. lotus L., with three varieties: a. Lotus; leaves orbicular or reiiiform, densely pubescent beneath; lobes divergent or approximate; flowers ample, red, rosy or white, ft. cordifolia; leaves cordate-ovate, densely pubes- cent beneath; lob
. Carnegie Institution of Washington publication. TAXONOMY—LOTOS. 193 NOTES.—Tlie following species differ chiefly in color of leaf and flower, in shape of leaf, and in production of seed. It is stated in Hooker & Thomson (1855) that all gradations in color occur in India from the white to the deep-red forms; they therefore united them into one species, N. lotus L., with three varieties: a. Lotus; leaves orbicular or reiiiform, densely pubescent beneath; lobes divergent or approximate; flowers ample, red, rosy or white, ft. cordifolia; leaves cordate-ovate, densely pubes- cent beneath; lobes divergent; flowers of medium size, white or carneous. y. pubcs- ccns; leaves puberulent or pubescent beneath; flowers smaller, white, rosy or red. These characters are wholly unreliable in cultivation, whereas the color relations come pretty true to seed, and are usually reproduced precisely from the tuber. Caspary's (1865) division of the species into var. lata with sepals ovate to ovate-oblong, petals white or rosy, filaments yellow; var. angusta, with sepals mostly oblong-lanceolate, petals white, inner filaments with a purple spot; var. oblonga, with sepals mostly oblong, rarely oblong-lanceo- late, petals white, rosy or pur- ple, is also unsatisfactory. There seems to be no con- stant morphological differ- ence on which to base a clas- sification. In 1888, however, Caspary speaks of N. lotus, pubcsccns, and rubra as dis- tinct species. This opinion may have been founded on the relations of hybrids, of which many are in cultivation. But the evidence from this source is not conclusive. For example, the hybrid N. oma- rana has bronzy green leaves and large flowers with petals pinkish-red with a nearly white streak up the middle, and the floral leaves open out horizontally; it shows plainly the blending of its N. lotus and N. rubra parentage; it bears seed, however, much more freely than N. rubra, but less freely than N. lotus. Its exact parentage is stated to be N. lot
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