Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CXXXII · Topic 20: Summer wildflowers, climbers and water plants
132. The water lily
Goal: Your child observes water lilies from the shore and explains how the leaf, stem and flower are fitted only for quiet water.
You'll need
- Nature notebook, pencil and colored pencils
- Binoculars (optional)
- A large pan of water at home
What's in the book
A Teacher's Story about the white water lily and the lesson: Leading thought, Method and nine questions, ending with the Nile and the Amazon.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
White water lilies bloom from early summer into September in quiet ponds and slow streams. The flowers usually open in the morning and close in the afternoon.
Water safety: an adult stays right beside children at any pond or stream. Stay on the bank, a dock or solid ground; pond bottoms are soft and can be deeper than they look.
The leading thought
The water lily has become dependent upon certain conditions in pond or stream, and has become unfitted in form to live elsewhere. It must have quiet waters, not too deep, and with silt bottom.
Where does it grow?
Where is the water lily found? If in a pond, how deep is the water? If in a stream, is it in the current?
The floating leaf
What is the shape of the leaf? What is the color above and below? What is the texture? How is it especially fitted to float?
If a leaf can be reached safely from a dock where picking is allowed, float it in a pan of water at home and cut its stem across: you'll see air channels.
The flower
Examine the open flower. How many sepals? How many rows of petals?
At what times of the day does the lily open? At what hours does it close?
Binoculars help from the shore.
Imagine
Imagine a water lily set on a dry hillside. Could the stems uphold the flowers or leaves?
For an older child, Comstock's last question links to geography:
Judging from what you know of the places where water lilies grow and the condition of the water there, describe the Nile where the lotus grows.
Nature notebook
Draw the pond from the side: lily pads floating on top, long stems going down to the mud. Label leaf, flower, stem, rootstock.
Afterwards
Comstock says the lesson can be adapted to the yellow water lily (spatterdock), which holds its leaves up out of shallow water.
Answers to the book's problems
The leaf is round, leathery and waxy on top, so water runs off; air spaces in the leaf and stem help it float. The stem is limp, so the leaf could not be held up in air. On a dry hillside the plant would fall flat and dry out.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.