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Updated: June 17, 2025
These all crowd around the brink, and watch, day and night, the opening and closing of the water-lilies. Meanwhile, upon the waters, our queen keeps her chosen court, nor can one of these mere land-loving blossoms touch the hem of her garment. In truth, she bears no sister near her throne. There is but this one species among us, Nymphaea odorata.
Flowers of Acacia, leaves of Mimusops, petals of Nymphaea may be cited as instances, and they are as perfectly preserved as the best herbarium-specimens of the present time. The petals and stamens retain their original colors, displaying them as brightly as is consistent with their dry state. Paleontologic evidence points to the same conclusion.
This plant grows, with a simple tap root, in the deep soft mud, bearing one large peltate leaf on a leaf stalk, about eight feet high, and from twelve to eighteen inches in diameter, the flower-stalk being of the same length or even longer, crowned with a pink flower resembling that of a Nymphaea, but much larger: its seed-vessel is a large cone, with perpendicular holes in its cellular tissue, containing seeds, about three quarters of an inch in length.
About eight miles from the springs, after crossing a great number of small dry sandy watercourses, we came to a fine creek with two large Nymphaea ponds. On our return, we ran down an emu, the stomach of which was full of the fruit of the little Severn tree. The meat of the whole body was so exceedingly bitter, that I could scarcely eat it.
We crossed only one sandy little creek, and came, at the end of the stage, to the head of a small Pandanus creek, which improved rapidly, and, a little way down, contained fine Nymphaea ponds. Charley went still farther down, and, in an old camp of the natives, found Cythereas and the head of a crocodile.
We have spoken of the various kindred of the water-lily; but we must not leave our fragrant subject without due mention of its most magnificent, most lovely relative, at first claimed even as its twin sister, and classed as a Nymphaea. We once lived near neighbor to a Victoria Regia. Nothing, in the world of vegetable existence, has such a human interest.
Besides the plants above-mentioned, a beautiful blue Nymphaea was found growing in the lagoon; and around it, among the reeds and high cyperaceous plants, a small labiate, a Gomphrena, the native Chamomile, and a Bellis were growing. The days continue very hot. At 5 P.M. we had a thunder-storm from the southward: but little rain fell. It cleared up at seven o'clock; very heavy dew in the morning.
In Egypt perpetually one feels how the ancient Egyptians loved the Nymphaea lotus, which is the white lotus, and the Nymphaea coeruloea, the lotus that is blue.
I collected as much of the gum as I could, and advised the others to do the same; we ate it with the roasted seeds, but were unable to find much of the gum or of the seeds. September 2. We travelled over uneven rocky ground, and crossed several gullies, and camped by the bed of a river, at a spot where there were fine reaches of water, full of Nymphaea and Villarsia.
In following a foot-path, we came to some large lagoons, but containing very little water; the natives had been digging in the dry parts, perhaps for the roots of Nymphaea. We encamped at one of them in lat. 17 degrees 49 minutes. The country along the river was an open box-forest.
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