The Water Lily Family

(Nymphaeceae)

Family Description

Water Lilies are aquatic plants.

They live in slow-moving or still, fresh water. The roots are embedded in the mud at the bottom of the water and the stem grows up towards the light.

The leaves are very distinctive - they are usually found floating on the surface of the water and have an oval or circular outline.

Yellow Water Lily

Nuphar lutea

The Yellow Water Lily has oval-shaped leaves floating on the surface of the water. The flowers grow above the leaves and the fruits ripen above the water.

Fresh, nutrient-rich, unpolluted water.

Lakes and ponds, slow-moving rivers and streams, canals and deep ditches.

Prefers water no deeper than 5 metres.

The Yellow Water Lily is quite a shade-tolerant plant, which means that it can grow well even if little light is available.

Each flower is packed full of stamens with anthers. Each anther produces lots of the male pollen.

Flying insects, mostly flies, pollinate the Lily, by passing male pollen on to the female part of the flower, the stigma, so that the egg is fertilised. The resulting fruit is flask shaped and contains seeds.

Lilies can also reproduce by vegetative growth, with new plants growing from a root-like food store (rhizome) which grows through the mud.

Seasonal Distribution

June to September

Yellow Water Lily is common in the south-east and central England.

The root-like food stores (rhizomes) used to be covered in tar and pressed against heads in an attempt to reverse baldness.