Page 36 - Растения Сахалинской области в легендах и мифах

N

Nymphaea tetragona

(Nymphaea tetragona Georgi)

A perennial aquatic herb with a thick rhizome rooting at the bottom of fresh water bodies.
Leaves on long petioles with simple whole oval-shaped leaf blades floating on the water
surface, with a heart-shaped base 12 cm long and 5–7 cm wide. The flowers are actinomorphic,
bisexual, half open, white, 3–7 cm in diameter, floating on the water.
On Sakhalin Island, it is scattered in inland water bodies throughout the territory (except
for Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, Nevelsky Districts and the outskirts of Yuzhno- Sakhalinsk).
In the Kuril Islands it is known only on the Kunashir Island. In the Russian Far East, it
is sporadically observed in all regions. In Russia, it also grows in Vost. and Zap. Siberia.
Outside the Russian Federation — in the Northern Europe, Mongolia, China, Japan, Korean
Peninsula and North America.

There lived an innocent and young nymph. She spent her nights at the bottom of
the lake, and in the mornings with sunrise she would emerge and wash herself in a

pink dawn. One early quiet morning, Hercules came to the reservoir to wash. The
nymph saw him and fell in love at first sight. She was so struck by his beauty that she
could not take her eyes off him. She decided to carry him along and swam closer. But
Hercules left without even looking at her. The nymph in grief could not return to the
bottom of the lake and continued to look after him, turning into a beautiful flower.

34