Nymphaeaceae

Nymphaeaceae
Water lily
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Nymphaeales
Family:	Nymphaeaceae Salisb. (1805)

Nymphaeaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. The family is also called the waterlily family. The white water lily is the national flower of Bangladesh. It is also the birth flower for July.

Water-lilies are rooted in soil in bodies of water, with leaves and flowers floating on the water surface. The leaves are round, with a radial notch in Nymphaea and Nuphar, but fully circular in Victoria.

Horticulturally, water-lilies are divided into two main categories: hardy and tropical. Hardy water lilies bloom only during the day, but tropical water lilies can bloom either day or night, and are the only group to contain blue-flowered plants.

The viability of water lily seeds is exceptionally long, around 2000 years.

Water lilies can be fragrant (for example Nymphaea odorata). There are hundreds of variations of a common water lily.

Water Lilies are most famously represented in popular culture by the French artist Claude Monet in a series of paintings.

See also

• Lotus
• Nelumbonaceae
• water lily

Pictures

• Nymphaea colorata from Africa
  Nymphaea colorata from Africa
• 
  A bee pollinating a water-lily
• 
  A painting of water-lilies by Claude Monet.
• 
  Water lily at Hodges Gardens, Park and Wilderness Area.
• 
  Water lilies in Mombasa, Kenya.
• 
  A woman standing on the large lilypad of a victoria water lily. A piece of wood has been placed atop the leaf to distribute her weight.
• Tropical water lily in Malaysia.
  Tropical water lily in Malaysia.
• Water Lily from India Taken at the Auroville Pondicherry, India
  Water Lily from India
  Taken at the Auroville Pondicherry, India

External links

• NCBI Taxonomy Browser