The water lily takes its genus name, Nymphaea, from the Greek numphe, meaning “water nymph” or “virgin”. The Greeks are said to have given the flower this name because of its reputed anti-aphrodisiac qualities. They grow from blackish, large, fleshy perennial rhizomes beneath the soil at the bottom of a water feature and have long, tubular stems that bring oxygen from the waxy green leaves that float on the surface to the underwater parts of the plant.
Plant Description
American white water lily is a perennial Strong-rooted aquatic herb that grows about 0.5–2 m (1.5–6.5 ft.) tall. The plant is found growing in acidic or alkaline ponds, lakes, sluggish streams and rivers, pools in marshes, ditches, canals, or sloughs, protected areas of lakes, and clear slow-moving rivers, particularly where dams have been constructed. The plant grows to the surface of the water from a thick horizontal root-stock, stem is absent. It consists of blackish, large, fleshy perennial rhizome.
Leaves
Leaves are always floating orbicular, smooth, and shining, dark green above, wine-color beneath. They are narrowly and deeply cut almost to the center, where the stem is attached.
Flowers & Fruit
Flowers are large, regular, bowl shaped, 5–20 cm (2–8 in.) wide, white or rose-colored, beautiful and fragrant. Only one flower on single stem that are white, fragrant, 2-6 inches across, and floating on the water. Flowers open in the early morning and close about noon. There are 4 sepals and many rows of white petals, often more than 25, which are 3/4-4 inches long, thick, and pointed at the tip. There are more than 70 stamens. The outer ones are large and petal-like; they become smaller toward the cent. Flowering normally takes place from Jul to August. Fruit is a depressed globular, fleshy body that consists of seeds that are oblong, stipulate.
Some Popular water lily species
1. ‘Afterglow’ water lily
Nymphaea ‘Afterglow’ offers magical coloring (pink flowers touched with shades of yellow and orange) on its very fragrant flowers during the day. Plants spread 6-8 feet.
2. ‘Arc en Ciel’ water lily
Nymphaea ‘Arc en Ciel’ offers showy foliage; each leaf is unique, with splashes of pink, yellow, cream, and sometimes red. Pale pink flowers open in daytime and fade as they age. Plants spread to 4-5 feet wide.
3. Cape blue water lily
Nymphaea capensis is a day-bloomer that features fragrant light blue flowers with a distinct star shape that rise above the floating leaves in summer. The plant spreads 5-8 feet.
4. ‘Carolina Sunset’ water lily
Nymphaea ‘Carolina Sunset’ bears peach-color blooms during the day and grows to 8 inches wide.
5. ‘Chromatella’ water lily
Nymphaea ‘Chromatella’ bears small yellow flowers during the day, as well as attractive purple-mottled foliage. This dwarf variety is perfect for petite ponds and container gardens, and it tolerates light shade.
6. ‘Colorado’ water lily
Nymphaea ‘Colorado’ delights with vivid pink-peach day-blooming flowers tipped in pale yellow. Its new leaves are burgundy, adding extra interest. The plants grow 3-5 feet across.
7. European white water lily
Nymphaea Alba bears cup-shape white flowers, sometimes tinged pink, around a center of showy stamens. The dark green leaves have red undersides. The plant spreads 5-1/2 feet.
8. Fragrant water lily
Nymphaea odorata is a North American native that’s fast-growing and endowed with very fragrant flowers. Held high above the foliage, the white blooms are 6-8 inches in diameter. Plants spread 5-7 feet wide.
9. ‘George L. Thomas’ water lily
Nymphaea ‘George L. Thomas’ offers shimmering, deep pink blooms during the day. This fast-growing plant needs a larger pond to show off its glory. It spreads 6-12 feet.
10. ‘Helvola’ water lily
Nymphaea ‘Helvola’ is a miniature day-blooming variety that produces small yellow flowers among leaves streaked with purple. It spreads to 2-3 feet.
11. ‘Hot Pink’ water lily
Nymphaea ‘Hot Pink’ is an award-winning tropical water lily that sports large, neon-pink flowers that remain open until late in the day. The green foliage is mottled with reddish brown. It spreads 4 feet.
12. ‘Luciana’ water lily
Nymphaea ‘Luciana’ is a classic day-blooming variety that generously produces 6-inch-wide pink flowers over a long season. It is adaptable to low light. This plant spreads 3-4 feet wide.
13. ‘Marliacea Carnea’ water lily
Nymphaea ‘Marliacea Carnea’ unfolds glowing flowers with a subtle pink blush during the day. It is vigorous, flowers freely, and flourishes in larger ponds. Plants spread 4-5 feet.
14. ‘Midnight’ water lily
Nymphaea ‘Midnight’ produces small, lightly fragrant lavender blooms during the day. The plants spread 4-6 feet.
15. ‘Mrs. George H. Pring’ water lily
Nymphaea ‘Mrs. George H. Pring’ is an award-winning variety that features fragrant day-blooming single, large white blooms with a ring of showy yellow stamens at the center.
16. ‘Peach Glow’ water lily
Nymphaea ‘Peach Glow’ features large, luminous peach flowers during the day that pale to white as they reach the end of their four-day bloom. This free-flowering variety continues to produce blooms into the fall. Plants spread 5-7 feet.
17. ‘Rembrandt’ water lily
Nymphaea ‘Rembrandt’ bears rose-pink blooms during the day that age to deep red. The plants spread 4-5 feet.
18. ‘Shirley Bryne’ water lily
Nymphaea ‘Shirley Bryne’ bears vibrant-pink cup-shape blooms during the day.
19. ‘Texas Dawn’ water lily
Nymphaea ‘Texas Dawn’ is a glorious day-blooming hybrid that holds its clusters of large yellow flowers up to the sun. It spreads 3-5 feet.
Traditional uses and benefits of American White water lily
- Root is alterative, anodyne, antiseptic, astringent and demulcent.
- Tea made from the roots is used in the treatment of TB, chronic bronchial complaints, diarrhea, dysentery, gastrointestinal inflammation, gonorrhea, vaginal discharge, inflamed glands, mouth sores and to stop bleeding.
- Poultice made from the roots is used in the treatment of swellings, boils, tumors, inflamed skin, vaginitis etc.
- A complete cure of uterine cancer by a decoction and uterine injection has been recorded.
- Leaves and roots have been used in form of poultice to boils, tumors, scrofulous ulcers and inflamed skin.
- Infusion is used as a gargle for ulcers in the mouth and throat.
- Poultice of leaves and roots relieves boils, tumors, ulcers, and inflamed skin.
- Extracts from the rhizome have astringent, demulcent, and anti-microbial properties, and may be used to treat chronic diarrhea, pharyngitis and leucorrhoea.
- Traditionally, the rhizome of this species was used; by the Chippewa to treat sores in the mouth, by the Micmac to treat colds, coughs and grippe, and swelled limbs, and by the Ojibwa as a cough medicine for tuberculosis.
- Externally, a poultice made for painful swellings, boils, ulcers, wounds, and cuts.
- Apply the powdered root, combined with flaxseed, as a poultice.
- Tea made from the root makes a good gargle for irritation and/or inflammation in the mouth and throat, used as eyewash, and a vaginal douche.
- As a lotion, it helps heal sores, makes skin soft and smooth.
- Both root and leaves are sometimes made into poultices for wounds, cuts, and bruises.
- Native Americans used root tea for coughs, tuberculosis (TB), inflamed glands, and mouth sores, to stop bleeding.
- Folk tradition, a mixture of root and lemon juice was used to remove freckles and pimples.
- Stem could be used to treat tooth aches if placed directly on the tooth.
- Rhizome was used, superstitiously as an anaphrodisiac to suppress sexual excitement and spermatorrhoea.
- Powdered root can be dusted onto irritated surface especially useful in diaper rash or when the female organs have become irritated.
Ayurvedic Health benefits
- Cough: Add 1 or 2 tsp of dried Nymphaea odorata root in a cup of warm water. Boil it for 5 minutes. Strain well and drink it lukewarm. Have it 2 times a day to treat cough.
Culinary Uses
- Flower buds are cooked as a vegetable or pickled.
- Young flowers are consumed raw.
- Leaves are consumed raw or cooked.
- Leaves are used in soups and stews.
- Ripe seed are cooked or ground into a meal.
- Root is Boiled or roasted.
Other facts
- It is cultivated in aquatic gardens as an ornamental plant.
- It is offensive and weedy on the west coast of North America.
- Plant was nicknamed “the destroyer of pleasure” because of its powers as a “love-killer.”
References:
https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=18384#null
https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/54624/
http://www.pfaf.org/USER/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Nymphaea+odorata
https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/115823
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/l/lilwhi26.html
https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=nyod
http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/tro-22600004
http://medicinalherbinfo.org/herbs/WaterLily.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymphaea_odorata
Comments
| American white waterlily Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Name: | American white waterlily |
| Scientific Name: | Nymphaea odorata |
| Origin | Eastern North America |
| Shapes | Depressed globular, fleshy body |
| Taste | Pungent, bitter, Astringent |
| Name | American white waterlily |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Nymphaea odorata |
| Native | Eastern North America, from Manitoba and Ontario to the Atlantic Provinces south to Texas and Florida |
| Common Names | Fragrant Water Lily, American white waterlily, Cow cabbage, Cow lily, Fragrant water lily, Pond lily, Sweet scented pond lily |
| Name in Other Languages | Afrikaans: Waterlelie Albanian: Zambak uji Arabic: Alzanabaq almayiyu (الزنبق المائي) Armenian: Jrashushan (ջրաշուշան) Azerbaijani: Su zanbağı Basque: Ur lily Belarusian: Vadzianaja lilieja (вадзяная лілея) Bengali: Śāpalā (শাপলা) Bosnian: Lokvanj Bulgarian: Vodna liliya (водна лилия) Catalan: Nenúfar Cebuano: Lirio sa tubig Chichewa: Kakombo madzi Chinese: Héhuā (荷花) Croatian: Lopoč Czech: Leknín Danish: Akande Dutch: Waterlelie English: American waterlily, American white waterlily, Fragrant water-lily, White waterlily, American white water-lily, Fragrant white water-lily, Water nymph, Water-lily, White water-lily Esperanto: Akvo lilio Estonian: Vesiroos Filipino: Water lily Finnish: Vsililja French: Nymphéa odorant, Lis d’eau, Lis d’eau blanc, Nymphée odorante, Nénuphar blanc, nénuphar Galician: Nenúfar German: Seerose Georgian: Ts’q’lis shroshani წყლის შროშანი Greek: Noúfaro (νούφαρο) Gujarati: Pāṇī lilī (પાણી લિલી) Haitian Creole: Yon bèl ti flè dlo Hausa: Ruwa Lily Hebrew: שושנת מים Hindi: Vaatar lilee (वाटर लिली) Hmong: Dej Lily Hungarian: Tavirózsa Icelandic: Vatnalilja Igbo: Mmiri lily Indonesian: Teratai Irish: Lily uisce Italian: Ninfea Japanese: Suiren (スイレン) Javanese: Lily banyu Kannada: Jala naidile (ಜಲ ನೈದಿಲೆ) Kazakh: Cw lalagüli (Cу лалагүлі) Khmer: Prolit (ព្រលិត) Korean: Sulyeon (수련) Latin: Aqua lilium Lao: Lily, noa (ນ້ໍາ) Latvian: Udensroze Lithuanian: Vandens lelija Macedonian: вода крин Malayalam: Ampal (ആമ്പൽ) Marathi: Pāṇī kamaḷa (पाणी कमळ) Maltese: Lily ilma Malagasy: Rano lisy Malay: Lily air Maori: Rengarenga wai Mongolian: Usny saraana (усны сараана) Myanmar (Burmese): Ray nhainnpaann (ရေနှင်းပန်း) Nepali: Pani lily (पानी लिली) Norwegian: Vannlilje Persian: نیلوفر ابی Polish: Lilia wodna Portuguese: Lírio de água Romanian: Nufăr Russian: Vodyanaya liliya (водяная лилия) Serbian: Lokvanj (локвањ) Sesotho: Khahla metsi Sinhala: nelum (නෙලුම්) Slovak: Lekno Slovenian: Lokvanj Somali: Ubaxa oo biyo ah Spanish: Lirio de agua Swahili: Lily maji Swedish: Doftnäckros, näckros Tajik: Cавсан об Tamil: Nīr alli (நீர் அல்லி) Telugu: Kaluva (కలువ) Thai: Dxkbạw (ดอกบัว) Turkish: Nilüfer Ukrainian: Vodyana liliya (водяна лілія) Urdu: پانی کا پھول Uzbek: Suv lily Vietnamese: Cây bông súng Welsh: Lili dŵr Yiddish: Vaser lilye (וואַסער ליליע) Yoruba: Omi Lily Zulu: Amanzi lily |
| Plant Growth Habit | Perennial Strong-rooted aquatic herb |
| Growing Climate | Acidic or alkaline ponds, lakes, sluggish streams and rivers, pools in marshes, ditches, canals, or sloughs, protected areas of lakes, and clear slow-moving rivers, particularly where dams have been constructed |
| Plant Size | 0.5–2 m (1.5–6.5 ft.) |
| Rhizome | Blackish, large, fleshy perennial rhizome |
| Leaf | Always floating orbicular, smooth, and shining, dark green above, wine-color beneath. They are narrowly and deeply cut almost to the center, where the stem is attached |
| Flowering Periods | Jul to August |
| Flower | Flowers are large, regular, bowl shaped, 5–20 cm (2–8 in.) wide. white or rose-colored, beautiful and fragrant. |
| Fruit | depressed globular, fleshy body; seeds oblong, stipulate |
| Taste | Pungent, bitter, Astringent |
| Seed | Oblong, stipulate |
| Plant Parts Used | Fresh root, Rhizome |
| Varieties |
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| Season | Aug to October |
| Precautions |
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