White Water-lily (Nyphaea odorata)

Synonym: Nyphaea tuberosa

Other names: White Pond-lily, Fragrant Waterlily

When someone thinks about a water-lily, probably this image of white water-lily (Nyphaea odorata) comes to mind.  It has a large, floating, and round leaf with a split and a gorgeous and fragrant flower.  They also may imagine a fine green frog sitting on the lily, but frogs rarely do that, because they would become an easy meal if they did.  White water-lily has that typical lily pad look, Spatterdock, as leaves that are more oval with a globe-shaped flower, and the American Lotus’s leaves usually stand out of the water on is stalk.

White water lily
White water-lily (Nymphea odorata) flower and leaf. Notice the “trails’ in the leaf. This was probably caused by the feeding of the Waterlily Leaf Beetle (Pyrrhalta nympheae)

The large flower (9-20 cm) of the white water-lily smells as wonderful as it looks.  The smell is there to attract its pollinators are many and include bumble bees (Bumbus) and Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)

White water-lily Flower
White water-lily (Nymphea odorata) flower closeup.