Nymphaeaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly called water lilies. They live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains nine genera with about 70 known species. Water lilies are rooted in soil in bodies of water, with leaves and flowers floating on or emergent from the surface. Leaves are round, with a radial notch in Nymphaea and Nuphar, but fully circular in Victoria and Euryale.
Victoria or giant waterlily is a genus of water-lilies, in the plant family Nymphaeaceae, with very large green leaves that lie flat on the water's surface. Victoria boliviana has a leaf that is up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) in width, on a stalk up to 8 metres (26 ft) in length. The genus name was given in honour of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. It pushes other water plants aside as it spreads out until only those of its kind remains. When this happens it has completely cut out the sunlight from getting to any plants below the water. All three species typically have four sepals each measuring 12 centimetres (4.7 in) long by 8 centimetres (3.1 in) wide. There are typically 50 to 70 petals and 150 to 200 stamens.
Nymphaea is a genus of hardy and tender aquatic plants in the family Nymphaeaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. Many species are cultivated as ornamental plants, and many cultivars have been bred. Some taxa occur as introduced species where they are not native, and some are weeds. Plants of the genus are known commonly as water lilies, or waterlilies in the United Kingdom. The genus name is from the Greek νυμφαία, nymphaia and the Latin nymphaea, which mean "water lily" and were inspired by the nymphs of Greek and Latin mythology.
Victoria cruziana is a tropical species of flowering plant, of the Nymphaeaceae family of water lilies native to South America, primarily Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay. The plant is a popular water garden plant in botanical gardens where its very large leaves can reach their fullest, up to 2 m wide with a thick rim up to 20 cm high, although rims up to nine inches have been recorded. It can be grown in cooler waters than its sisters within the genus, the more familiar giant waterlily, Victoria amazonica and the recently discovered Victoria boliviana. A 25 cm diameter flower blooms for two days, arising from the underwater bud, as a white flower that turns to a deep pink on the second and final day of its bloom. V. cruziana is a thermogenetic or heat-producing plant. The plant prefers to live in colder non moving water and requires warm temperatures in order for the flower to blossom, hence the plant must distribute a lot of energy to keep itself warmer than its natural environment. The floral stigma are attached to a cup that is protected by spines, and the floral cup begins heating up in the bud, then, as the flower opens, it releases a strong sweet scent to attract pollinating beetles, then continues to provide heat to the flower while the beetles are pollinating.
Victoria amazonica also called Victoria regia is a species of flowering plant, the second largest in the water lily family Nymphaeaceae. It is called Uape Jacana in Brazil and its Inca (Quechua) name is Atun Sisac. Its native region is tropical South America, specifically Guyana and the Amazon Basin.
Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea, is a water lily in the genus Nymphaea, a botanical variety of Nymphaea nouchali.
Nuphar is a genus of aquatic plants in the family Nymphaeaceae, with a temperate to subarctic Northern Hemisphere distribution. Common names include water-lily, pond-lily, alligator-bonnet or bonnet lily, and spatterdock.
Euryale ferox, commonly known as prickly waterlily, makhana or Gorgon plant, is a species of water lily found in southern and eastern Asia, and the only extant member of the genus Euryale. The edible seeds, called fox nuts or makhana when dried, are eaten in Asia.
Barclaya is a genus of six species of flowering plants of the family Nymphaeaceae. Barclaya are aquatic plants native to tropical Asia. The genus was named in honour of the American-born English brewer and patron of science Robert Barclay.
Nuphar lutea, the yellow water-lily, brandy-bottle, or spadderdock, is an aquatic plant of the family Nymphaeaceae, native to northern temperate and some subtropical regions of Europe, northwest Africa, western Asia, North America, and Cuba. This interesting species found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean was used as a food source and in medicinal practices from prehistoric times with potential research and medical applications going forward.
Nymphaea micrantha is a water lily belonging to the genus Nymphaea. It is native to the tropics of West Africa.
Nymphaea leibergii, also known as the dwarf waterlily and Leiberg's waterlily, is a perennial emergent aquatic plant belonging to the genus Nymphaea. It can be found across northern North America in ponds and slow moving streams. Populations of this plant are infrequent throughout its range, and it is protected as a state threatened plant in Maine and Minnesota.
Kew Gardens is a botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its living collections include some of the 27,000 taxa curated by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, while the herbarium, one of the largest in the world, has over 8.5 million preserved plant and fungal specimens. The library contains more than 750,000 volumes, and the illustrations collection contains more than 175,000 prints and drawings of plants. It is one of London's top tourist attractions and is a World Heritage Site.
Nymphaea thermarum is the world's smallest water lily yet described. The pads (leaves) of N. thermarum can measure only 1 cm (0.39 in) across, less than 10% the width of the next smallest species in the genus Nymphaea. By comparison, the largest water lily has pads that can reach 3 m (9.8 ft). All wild plants were lost due to destruction of its native habitat, but it was saved from extinction when it was grown from seed at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 2009. In January 2014, a surviving water lily was stolen from the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Urceolina amazonica, formerly known as Eucharis amazonica, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to Peru. It is cultivated as an ornamental in many countries and naturalized in Venezuela, Mexico, the West Indies, Ascension Island, Sri Lanka, Fiji, the Solomon Islands and the Society Islands. The English name Amazon lily is used for this species, but is also used for some other species of the genus Urceolina.
Nymphaea gigantea, commonly known as the giant waterlily or blue waterlily, is a perennial, herbaceous plant in the family Nymphaeaceae which is native to parts of northern and eastern Australia, and it has been widely cultivated elsewhere. It is an aquatic plant whose natural habitat is permanent and semi-permanent still water bodies
Nymphaea elegans, also known as the tropical royalblue waterlily, is a species of aquatic plants in the family Nymphaeaceae. It is native to the United States, Mexico, and the Bahamas. It has been introduced to Colombia. Additionally, it has been reported to ocurr in Argentina.
Nymphaea ampla, the dotleaf waterlily, is a species of flowering plant in the family Nymphaeaceae. It is native to Texas, Florida, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern and western South America.
Nymphaea dimorpha is a species of waterlily endemic to Madagascar.
Nymphaea glandulifera is a species of waterlily native to tropical America.
