Scientific Family
Nymphaeaceae
Other common names
American waterlily
white waterlily
beaver root
fragrant waterlily
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Similar species
Nymphaea tuberosa, N. tetragona
Height
To nearly 10 inches wide
Riparian
Yes
Forms colonies in shallow water. Oval leaves are green above with spreading veins, purplish below and float on the water surface or just below. Fragrant, showy, floating, star-like flowers have many white petals and a golden yellow center, close nightly.
Aquatic; rhizomes creeping; stolons absent; leaves large, oval, veins spread from central point, purplish below, green above; flowers close nightly, petals white, 17 to 43; sepals uniformly greenish, reddish, or yellowish on surface away from stem.
Habitat
Found in fresh-water, still or slow-moving ponds, lakes, streams and rivers particularly where dams have been constructed (whether by humans or beavers) in relatively shallow water (5 to 8 feet). It favors water that is somewhat acidic.
Plant Community
Riparian
Low elevation
1000
High elevation
7000
Flower Characteristics
Each fragrant flower floats rising somewhat above the water, has about 17 to 43 white petals that curve upward, is 2-3/4 to almost 10 inches wide and has a dense center of many golden yellow stamens. 4 leaf-like sepals below the flower rest on the water.
Flower color
White
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
April
Last bloom month
October
Flower clusters
None
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Thick, hairy, branched stems grow underwater from submerged creeping rootstalks (rhizomes). Leathery, waxy, oval leaves with long stalks may grow up to 10 inches wide and are narrowly cut almost to the center on 1 side where the stalk is attached.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Green above, purplish below
Leaf shape
Round or oval
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
After the petals wither, a multicelled fruit develops that is fleshy or spongy and sphere-shaped with many seeds. It resembles a leathery berry about 3/4 to 1-1/2 inches wide. The stalk of the fruit bends downwards enabling the fruit to mature underwater.
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit color
Green
When ripe, the fruit releases seeds that float up to the water surface. Carried by water currents and wind, the seeds sink downward to the muddy bottom where they germinate. Each seed is smooth, shiny, egg-shaped, 1/16 inch long and dark olive green.