Home
Absinth wormwood
Alligatorweed
American
Lotus
American
Pondweed
Ampelopsis
Australian
Pine
Baccharis
Bamboo
Banana
Passionflower
Barnyard Grass
Bermuda
Grass
Birdsfoot
Deervetch
Black Locust
Black
Mustard
Blue
Lettuce
Brazilian
Elodea
Brazilian
Peppertree
Bufflegrass
Bull
Thistle
Bulrush
Burdock
Buttonbush
Canada
Thistle
Cattails
Cheatgrass
Cherry
Silverberry
Chinaberry
Chineese Lespedeza
Chinese Bush Clover
Chinese Privete
Chinese
Tallow Tree
Climbing
Hempweed
Cogon Grass
Common Buckthorn
Common
Cocklebur
Common
Reed
Common Sowthistle
Coontail
Cottonwood
Crownvetch
Curlyleaf
Pondweed
Dalmation
Toadflax
Diffuse
Knapweed
Duckweed
Dyer's
Woad
Elephant Ears
Elodea
English Ivy
Eurasian
Watermilfoil
European
Stickseed
Field
Bindweed
Field
Mustard
Field
Sowthistle
Floating Heart
Floating
Primrose
Flowering Rush
Fragrant
Water-Lilly
Gallant
Solder
Garlic Mustard
Giant
Foxtail
Giant
Reed
Giant
Salvinia
Glossy Buckthorn
Gorse
Halogeton
Hempnettle
Himalayan
Raspberry
Hoary
Cress
Horsenettle
Horseweed
Houndstongue
Hydrilla
Ivy
Gourd
Japanese Barberry
Japanese knotweed
Johnson
Grass
Jointed Goatgrass
Klamath
Weed
Kochia
Koster's
Curse
Kudzu
Leafy
Spurge
Limnophila
Longspine
Sandbur
Malaleuca
Medusahead
Miconia
Mimosa
Miramar Weed
Multiflora
Rose
Musk
Thistle
Nepalese Brown Top
Norway Maple
Old World Climbing Fern
Orange Hawkweed
Oxeye
Daisy
Pale Yellow Iris
Paper Mulberry
Para
Grass
Parrotfeather
Perenial
Pepperweed
Periwinkle
Plumeless
Thistle
Poison
Hemlock
Porcelainberry
Princess Tree
Puncturevine
Purple
Loosestrife
Purple
Starthistle
Pupletop Vervain
Quackgrass
Queen
Anne's Lace
Redroot
Pigweed
Reed
Canarygrass
Rice
Cut-Grass
Riviere Golden Bamboo
Russian
knapweed
Russian
Thistle
Salvinia minima
Scotch Broom
Scotch
Thistle
Skeleton
Weed
Slender
Naiad
Smartwed
Smooth
Brome
Southern
Naiad
Spatter-Dock
Spiny
Naiad
Spotted
Knapweed
Strawberry Guava
Sulfur cinquefoil
Sunflower
Swallowworts
Tamarisk/Salt
Cedar
Tansy Ragwort
Teasel
Texas
Blueweed
Torpedo
Grass
Tree of Heaven
Tropical Soda Apple
Tumble
Pigweed
Uruguayan
Primrose
Variable-Leaf
Milfoil
Water
Buttercup
Water
Chestnut
Water
Moss
Water
Paspalum
Water
Shield
Water
Hyacinth
Water
Lettuce
Water
Willow
Western
Water Hemlock
White
Sweetclover
Whitetop
Wild
Mustard
Wild Parsnip
Willows
Yellow
Nutsedge
Yellow
Starthistle
Yellow
Toadflax
Fragrant
Water-Lilly - Nymphaea ordorata
Family: Nymphaceae
TPIUC
Description
Nymphaea odorata is an aquatic, perennial herb with spreading, horizontal rhizomes. Leaves are alternate and on long petioles that arise directly from the rhizome. The leaf blades float, are orbicular in shape, deeply cleft basally and often purple below. Leaf blades are palmately veined and have pointed basal lobes. Flowers float on or just above the water surface, are very showy, 6 to 20 cm broad, and are on long peduncles originating in the axils of the leaves. The flowers have 4 greenish sepals and 17 to 40 white, or rarely pinkish, petals. Following final closing of the flower, the flower stalk spirals, bringing the developing fruit to or near the substrate. The fruit has many seeds.
Fragrant water-lily can be distinguished from the yellow water-lily by its white, or rarely pinkish petals, and the absence of stolons. In contrast, the yellow water-lily has yellow petals and produces stolons.
Habitat/Growth Characteristics:
Fragrant water-lily grows in swamps, shallow ponds, lakes, ditches, and slow moving stream. Nymphaea odorata can reproduce from rhizomes and by seed (Tarver et al. 1986, Hanlon 1990) Once established, colonies spread by rhizome branching and may colonize large areas of shallow water bodies. After a few growing season the water surface may be covered by floating leaves and shade out other plants. Tarver et al. (1986) report white water-lily to grow at depths of 0.1 to 2.5 m deep. Nymphaea mexicana spreads by stolons which produce numerous, descending, curved, fleshy, overwintering roots resembling tiny bananas (Sutton 1984).
Problems:
Dense growth of fragrant water-lily in shallow water areas sometimes interferes with boating and recreation. It may also exclude reduce the diversity of a water body by shading out other plant species (Tarver et al. 1986).
Interesting facts
The genus Nymphaea L. consists of perhaps 40 or so species distributed primarily in the Northern Hemisphere. Many species are prized as ornamentals and have been introduced and become naturalized outside of their natural range. Wiersema (1997) lists nine species of Nymphaea as occurring in the Untied States. Seven of the nine species recognized by Wiersema (1997) have somewhat restricted ranges.
The most common and widespread water-lily in the United States is N. odorata Ait., fragrant water-lily or white water-lily. This species is native and consists of two subspecies, N. odorata subsp. odorata and subsp. tuberosa (Paine) Wiersema & Hellquist. The two subspecies are widespread in the eastern, central, and mid western United States. Subspecies odorata also has been introduced into several western and northwestern states (Weirsema 1997). The pictures used in this system are those of N. odorata subsp. odorata. Another native species of Nymphaea is the yellow water-lily, N. mexicana Zucc., which is most common in Florida but ranges west to Texas and Oklahoma and has been introduced in several other states (e.g., Arizona, California, North Carolina, South Carolina).
VIDEO
Links to more information
Website, video, and graphics by Rob Nelson
For more information on this plant or management please contact US Army Corp of Engineers
