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Indoor Water Plants |
Apart from the species just mentioned there is a very great
number of hybrids, some of which flower by day others show-
ing their beauty at night. Of the former, 'Blue Beauty',
although an old variety, is really first class with deep blue
flowers as much as nine or ten inches in diameter and with
a centre of showy yellow stamens.
'Colonel Lindbergh' is another fine blue-flowered sort which
is pleasantly fragrant.
'General Pershing' has fragrant pink flowers.
'Madame Abel Chatenay' is lavender-blue.
'Panama Pacific' is easy to grow. The flowers are reddish-
blue passing to deep royal-purple while the yellow stamens
have a dark tip.
N. pulcherrima is a good grower producing large light blue
flowers.
Of the night-flowering hybrids, 'Frank Trelease' is deep
crimson although the blooms are not always very freely pro-
duced. 'George Hunter' is another very good variety with
velvety-crimson flowers. 'Missouri' is a fine white, up to a foot
in diameter, while 'O'Marana' is a particularly good lily with
rosy-red flowers and rich orange stamens, the leaves being very
daintily crimped at the edges.
Victoria regia is almost certainly the largest-leaved water
plant. Named in honour of Queen Victoria, its native habitat
is Bolivia. The very large leaves are said to measure from ten
to fifteen feet in diameter, while the flowers are three to four
feet in circumference. It is rarely seen in this country although
stocks are raised at Kew Gardens. The flowers open at night
and, at first, are creamy-white but change to pink and then to
a reddish tone. These scented blooms produce large spiny fruit
and it is said that the inside of these fruits is eaten by natives
as a kind of meal. Although no private person in this country
is likely to grow this huge plant, it is of great interest and there
are various pictures of it, or at least of individual leaves,
indicating its size in comparison to a child.
There is another group of tender water plants known as the
Nelumbos or Nelumbiums. They are most historic and
romantic, and we may even say revered, in China, Japan,
Egypt, India and Tibet. They are often referred to as the
Sacred Lotus of the Nile and have frequently been portrayed
in art and sculpture. The nelumbos differ from the
nymphaeas in their botanical make-up and they are grown in
eastern countries on account of the economic value of the roots
and seeds which are eaten.
Apart from growing in indoor pools, some of the nelumbiums
may be grown in tubs, which in a really warm summer, may
be stood outdoors for a time.
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