Nymphaea
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 Nymphaea alba
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About 50 species, including: |
Nymphaea is a genus of aquatic plants in the family Nymphaeaceae. The common name, shared with some other genera in the same family, is water-lily or waterlily. Nymphaea leaves have a radial notch from the circumference to the petiole (leaf stem) in the center. There are about 50 species in the genus, which has a cosmopolitan distribution.
The genus is closely related to Nuphar, differing in the petals being much larger than the sepals, whereas in Nuphar, the petals are much smaller than the 4-6 yellow-coloured sepals. The fruit maturation also differs, with Nymphaea fruit sinking below the water level immediately after the flower closes, whereas Nuphar fruit are held above water level to maturity.
The ancient Egyptians revered the Nile water-lilies, or lotuses as they were also called. The Egyptian Blue Water-lily, N. caerulea, opens its flowers in the morning and then sinks beneath the water at dusk. The Egyptian White Water-lily, N. lotus, flowers at night and closes in the morning. Remains of both flowers have been found in the burial tomb of Ramesses II.
Water-lilies are not related to lilies (family Liliaceae, order Liliales). The Egyptian lotuses are also not related to the species of Indian lotus of genus Nelumbo, which are used in Asian cooking and sacred to Hinduism and Buddhism.
Many of the water-lilies familiar in water gardening are hybrids.
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