The pink family is well represented in cultivation, including the carnation, sweet William, garden pink, baby’s breath, and others. The red-flowered catch-fly (Silene laciniata), found in the mountains of West Texas to Mexico and California, is known in cultivation.
WATER-LILY FAMILY (Nymphaeaceae)
BLUE WATER-LILY
Aquatic herbs; leaves long-stalked, often floating; flowers solitary, large; sepals 3-6; petals numerous; stamens numerous; carpels 8 or more.
Blue Water-Lily (Nymphaea elegans) is a common water-lily along the coast of Texas and Mexico, particularly in the vicinity of Corpus Christi. The flowers vary from nearly white to a purplish-blue or lilac and are 3-6 in. broad. The floating leaves, about 7 in. broad, are dark purple below and nearly round; sometimes they have a few scattered teeth on the margins. The blooms last 3 days, opening about 8 o’clock in the morning and closing shortly after noon.
Yellow Water-Lily (Nymphaea flava) is a yellow-flowered water-lily found on the Texas and Florida coasts. The sweet-scented white water-lily is abundant in the southeastern part of the state.
Spatter Dock. Yellow Pond Lily (Nuphar advena), with yellow cup-shaped flowers 2-3 in. broad, is the common water-lily of slow streams and ponds throughout the state and ranges to Labrador, Florida, and Utah.
The water-lilies form an important food and cover for fish; ducks and muskrats feed upon the many seeds produced.