Water-Lilies-Past and Present
Species and Varieties
Modern History
>Early Water Gardens
Latour-Marliac Varieties
It is fortunate that in England, and later in Europe, the fad reached craze proportions, for it must have taken great enthusiasm to assemble a colorful collection in the early 1900'S. Nymphaea alba, Europe's most widely distributed hardy native species, has a delightful, cup-shaped blossom which floats gracefully upon the water, as delicate in appearance as it is robust in habit. Undoubtedly it brought much pleasure to all who grew it. Few other flowers of the world surpass the beauty of its spotless, white, dewy freshness, but it probably fell somewhat short of perfection for those with a taste for rich color. However, it was fragrant, especially on the first day of blooming, the receptive period when the stigma is filled with nectar to attract insects for pollination.
AMERICAN SPECIES-Nymphaea odorata
The native American species, which Europeans soon began
to import, were, to a large extent, merely more of the same. One of
them, Nymphaea odorata, generally known as the New England Pond Lily,
thrives in both northern and southern states, and as far west as the
Mississippi River. Nymphaea odorata has a most heavenly scent, which
made it a real asset in a European water garden. The pure species, however,
is also white, though the chance varieties and hybrid forms which sprang
up here and there tended toward blush pink. One of these, N. odorata
rosea, endearingly known as the Cape Cod Pink Water-Lily, became popular,
although it hardly added a blaze of color to the water garden.
Another prominent American species, Nymphaea tuberosa, is a native of
the West, particularly the Northwest. It is a vigorous, healthy grower
and has a sweet fragrance, but it, too, bears only white blooms.
Colorful varieties were to be found in the world, however,
and enthusiasts discovered them and brought them home. One of the first
and most beautiful was Nymphaea alba rubra, a Swedish variety of a widespread
European species having pale-pink buds opening in the course of a few
days to deep-red flowers, the spectacular orange stamens in lovely contrast
to all the changing hues of the bloom. This N. alba rubra, however,
proved to be very temperamental. It could live only in cold water, and
it shocked easily in transplanting. But the splash of color it made
among the white blooms in the European gardens must have been worth
the great effort required.
Nymphaea mexicana, the native Mexican species, was far easier to transplant
and propagate. Its blooms are bright yellow and are carried several
inches above the water.
Nymphaea tetragona, another early English import, is white, but with
big, bright-yellow stamens that give it color. The flower is one of
the smallest of all the hardy water-lilies, actually miniature, perfectly
formed and no larger than the face of a pocket watch. Although well
distributed in India, Japan, Siberia, and Australia, it is generally
regarded as "the native Chinese species," probably because
it offers a pleasant tealike fragrance.
Nymphaea pygmaea is another miniature species that found its way into
English gardens more than a century ago. Many horticulturists today
insist that this one and N. tetragona are the same; others insist that
they are distinct species, the pygmaea flowers being the larger and
the plant the stronger of the two. I shall list them separately, since
the pygmaea and tetragona varieties that I have handled show very different
characteristics.
These were the first species assembled, and from them descended most
of the hardy varieties we enjoy today. Other species made brief appearances-Nymphaea
fennica, the Finnish species, which produces its white blooms only in
extremely cold water; N. candida, the white Bohemian species; N. flava,
the yellow Florida water-lily; N. Wenzelii, the white, star-shaped Russian
water-lily, and various others. Few of these species are worth collecting.
Either they are too temperamental to grow or their inferior blooms are
not worth the work involved.