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• Aquatic plants
• Water plants with leaves and stems
• Nymphaea odorata

Nymphaea odorata — white water-lily

Facts

White water-lily is found in slightly acidic to basic water of lakes, slow-moving streams, and pools in all New England states. Though it normally has white petals, plants with pink petals are occasionally found. The leaves and roots were used by Native Americans for a variety of medical purposes.

Habitat

Lacustrine (in lakes or ponds), riverine (in rivers or streams)

Characteristics

• Clonal plantlets

  Turion length

  0 mm

• Flowers

  Anther color

  there is a noticeable pink, reddish or purplish tint to the anthers

  Carpels fused

  the carpels are fused to one another

  Flower lower lip length

  0 mm

  Flower number

  1

  Flower position

  • the flowers are above the surface of the water
  • the flowers are floating on the surface of the water

  Flower symmetry

  there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)

  Inflorescence type

  the inflorescence has only one flower on it

  Inflorescence width

  60–190 mm

  Nectar spur

  the flower has no nectar spurs

  Number of carpels

  10–25

  Ovary position

  the sepals and/or petals are attached below the ovary

  Palate on corolla

  no

  Petal and sepal arrangement

  the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures

  Petal appearance

  the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)

  Petal color

  • pink
  • white

  Petal fringed edges

  the petals are not fringed

  Petal fusion

  the perianth parts are separate

  Petal hairs on inner/upper surface

  there are no hairs on the inner/upper petal surface

  Petal length

  30–100 mm

  Petal number

  14–43

  Petal or sepal number

  there are seven or more petals, sepals, or tepals in the flower

  Pistil number

  1

  Sepal appearance

  the sepals resemble leaves in color and texture

  Sepal length

  30–100 mm

  Sepal number

  4

  Sepals fused only to sepals

  the sepals are separate from one another

  Spur length

  0 mm

  Stamen number

  13 or more

  Stamen position relative to petals

  NA

• Fruits or seeds

  Fruit beak length

  0 mm

  Fruit type (general)

  the fruit is fleshy

  Fruit type (specific)

  • the fruit is a berry (fleshy, with the wall enclosing one or more sections, with two or more seeds)
  • the fruit is a follicle (has one ovary that splits along one side to release the seeds)

• Glands or sap

  Oil glands on nodes

  none of the nodes have oil glands

  Sap

  the sap is milky and opaque, and may be white or colored

• Growth form

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

  Root septa

  the roots do not have transverse septa

  Roots floating in water

  there are no clusters of roots floating in the water

  Turions

  there are no turions on the plant

  Underground organs

  the plant has a rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)

• Leaves

  Bract position (Sparganium)

  NA

  Bract relative length

  At least 3854 mm

  Bracts

  neither the flowers nor their pedicels have bracts

  Floating leaf basal lobes

  yes

  Floating leaf blade width

  50–400 mm

  Floating leaf length

  50–400 mm

  Floating leaf shape

  • the leaf blade is orbicular (roughly circular, as wide as long)
  • the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)

  Floating leaf tip

  the tip of the floating leaf blade is rounded, with no point

  Floral bract form

  NA

  Floral bract length

  0 mm

  Leaf arrangement

  alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Leaf blade length

  50–400 mm

  Leaf blade veins

  the lateral veins radiate from the base and continue to spread away from the centerline of the leaf, or branch off the central vein at intervals

  Leaf blade width

  50–400 mm

  Leaf position

  • some of the leaves are floating at the surface of the water
  • the leaves are all submerged underwater

  Leaf special features

  none of the mentioned special features are present

  Leaf-like branch segments

  0

  Leaf-like branch shape

  NA

  Specific leaf type

  the leaf is not divided, rather the blade is made up of one segment

  Staminate bract edge (Myriophyllum)

  NA

  Stipules

  the plant has stipules

  Trap-bladder length

  0 mm

  Underwater leaf blade edges

  the underwater leaf has smooth edges, without teeth

  Underwater leaf blade shape

  • the underwater leaf blade is orbicular (roughly circular, as wide as long)
  • the underwater leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)

  Underwater leaf stalk

  yes

  Underwater leaf tip shape

  the tip of the underwater leaf is rounded, with no point

  Veins in floating leaf

  6–27

• Place

  Habitat

  aquatic

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • in lakes or ponds
  • in rivers or streams

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem growth form

  the flowering stem is upright

Wetland status

Occurs only in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: OBL)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae