Ouvirandra
(from Ouvirandrano, its native name, said to signify Water-yam; the roots are edible). ORD. Naiadaceae. A small genus of stove aquatics, with tuberculate roots, now included, by the authors of the "Genera Plantarum," under Aponogeton. The chief interest of these plants lies in the remarkable singularity of the leaves. The water in which the species are grown should not be above 1 1/2ft. deep. A compost of loam and decayed vegetable matter, in equal parts, is most suitable. The temperature of the water should not exceed 75deg. Propagation may be effected by seeds, or by divisions of the root. The plants, when properly grown, generally sow their own seed. O. Bernieriana (Bernier's). fl. pink, the flower-stem divided into four spikes at the apex. August. Stem much inflated about the middle. Madagascar, 1858. This species resembles the better-known O. fenestralis in general structure; the leaves, however, are much narrower and longer, and the nerves are much closer. (B. M. 5076.) O. fenestralis (window-leaved).* Lace-leaf or Lattice-leaf Plant. fl. greenish-white, the flower-stem split at the top into two spikes. August. l. 6in. to 18in. long, and from 2in. to 4in. broad, oblong in shape, with an obtuse apex, and spreading out nearly horizontally beneath the surface of the water. The leaves them selves are merely a network of vascular tissue, resembling lace or a lattice-window. Madagascar, 1855. A most singular plant. (B. M. 4894.)