Nymphaea odorata

Fragrant Water Lily (Nymphaea odorata )

The Fragrant Water Lily (Nymphaea odorata ) is a plant from the genus of water lilies (Nymphaea ) in the family Nymphaeaceae ( Nymphaeaceae ).

Description

The Fragrant water lily is a perennial herbaceous plant. This aquatic plant that grows in water depths greater than 40 cm, usually branched rhizomes forms which are cylindric and do not form a bulbous thickened lateral shoots. The petiole usually has no brown-red stripes. The Schwimmblattspreite is at hand, red or purple and has sharp or pointed basal lobes.

The hermaphrodite flowers have a diameter of generally from 7 to 15 ( often up to 19 ) centimeters. The four sepals are green to reddish. There are usually 23 to 32 (14 to 43) white colored rarely pink, free petals present. The 35 to 120 stamens are yellow. The scars disc is 10 - to 25 -beam. The flowers are closed at night. The flowering period extends from June to August.

The egg-shaped seeds are 1.5 to 4.5 × 0.9 to 3 mm, 1.5 to 1.75 times longer than wide.

Occurrence

The Fragrant Water Lily comes in warm to temperate North America, Central America, in Cuba and the Bahamas in lakes, ponds, slow-flowing waters and canals.

Use

The Fragrant water lily is often used as an ornamental plant in garden ponds. In North America it is regarded as a medicinal plant. This species is in cultivation since 1786. It is the ancestral species of many hybrids.

Swell

• Description in the Flora of North America. (English )