Nymphaea alba L.

Nymphaea species are aquatic perennial herbs, laticiferous, rooted. Rhizomes erect or creeping, stoloniferous and sometimes branched. Leaves polymorphic, sublate, hastate, sagittate, deltoid to suborbicular, usually floating or submerged, membranous when young and coriaceous, prominently veined when mature, long petiolate. Flowers bisexual, usually solitary and floating, rarely submerged, yellow, white, pink, red and purple with long peduncles, sepals 4, free, hypogynous, petals 8 to numerous, hypogynous to perigynous. Stamens numerous, inflexed, shorter than petals and sepals, dorsifixed, filaments longer than anthers, anthers partially sunken, carpels 5-35, usually united partially or fully. ovary superior, ovules numerous. Fruits are irregularly dehiscent, when non-schizocarpic it is a berry, ovoid or globose, crowned, with green filaments, ripened under water, seed globose, enclosed in a fleshy bell shaped aril, smooth or with ridges.

Nymphaea species flowers are complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels and ovary. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects. Flowering/Fruiting: April-October.

Seeds may be dispersed by autochory i.e., self dispersal; hydrochory i.e., dispersal by water, anthropochory i.e., dispersal by humans.

Aquatic perennial herbs, laticiferous, rooted. Rhizomes erect or creeping, stoloniferous. Leaves polymorphic, suborbicular to cordate, about 10-30 x 9-27 cm across, base deeply hastate or cordate, margin, apex obtuse to retuse, lowest pair of veins straight and divergently produced and basal lobes, basal lobes unequal, usually floating or submerged, membranous when young and coriaceous, prominently veined when mature beneath, long petiolate, buds obtuse at the apex. Flowers bisexual, usually solitary and floating, white, about 10-15 cm across, with long peduncles, receptacle cylindrical, sepals 4, free, ovate-oblong, apex obtusely cucullate, brownish green outside, about 5-8 x 1.5 x 1.8 cm across, petals about 20-25, oblong-lanceolate, base attenuate, apex obtusely cucullate, white, outer ones about the length of sepals or slightly longer, hypogynous to perigynous. Stamens numerous, distributed up to summit of ovary, about 2.5-3.5 cm across, filaments of innermost stamens filiform, lanceolate, longer than anthers, anthers partially sunken, carpels completely united, ovary superior, bout 14-20 loculate, stigma flat with a hemispheric central projection, yellow and stigmatic appendages incurved, triangular-ovate, about 3-4 mm long, sulcate inside. Fruit berry about 3-4 cm across. Seeds ellipsoid, smooth, about 2-3 x 1.7 mm.

Nymphaea species are susceptible to insect pests like water-lily beetle, water lily aphid. Diseases like water lily leaf spots, crown rots and brown spots.

Cultivated and naturalized in ponds and lakes.

Not evaluated (IUCN).

Considered to be a sedative, anesthetic, astringent, antiseptic and an aphrodisiac. Cultivated as ornamental, Flowers used in decoration and worship.