nympha a

[Lat., from Gr. nympha i a, fem. of nymphaios sacred to the Nymphs. So called because dedicated by the Greeks to the Nymphs.] 1. Bot .: White Water-lily; a genus of Nymphe acere, family or tribe Nupharide. Sepals four; petals expanded, white, blue, or red, in many series, the inner ones pa ing into stamens, adnate to the disk; ovary many-celled, with the styles radiating on the top; fruit a berry with the numerous seeds buried in the pulp. Known species about twenty, from various regions. N.alba has orbicular, floating leaves, and large flowers; is frequent in lakes and still waters. It is occasionally seen with smaller flowers. The rhizomes dye gray; they have been used also for tanning leather, and beer has been made from them. N. lotus , an Indian species, has strongly-toothed leaves and white flowers tinged with pink. It is used as an astringent in diarrhea, cholera, and diseases of the liver, the root as a demulcent in piles, and the seeds as a cooling medicine in cutaneous diseases, and as an antidote for poisons. The roots are made into curries; the seeds also are eaten, as are those of N. stell at a , another Indian species, in times of scarcity. 2. Palæobot .: Heer recognizes several species as fo il; one, Nymphea doris, in the Oligocene at Bovey Tracey.