A view from beneath the Yellow Pond Lily.
Yellow Pond Lily
Nuphar polysepala
The flower of the lily tends to poke out of the water.
Yellow Pond Lily
Nuphar lutea
| Plant Information | ||
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A view from beneath the Yellow Pond Lily. |
Yellow Pond Lily Nuphar polysepala
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The flower of the lily tends to poke out of the water. |
| Description | Other Information |
| Yellow water lily (Nymphaea
mexicana) is closely related to fragrant or white water lily. It is
rooted, with floating leaves. the leaves are almost circular, with a split
to the center where the stalk is attached.
Leaves are green on top and reddish purple underneath. The large, yellow flowers are 2 to 4 inches across and can be used to distinguish it readily from the white water lily. The yellow water lily flowers from May to October. Reproduction is from seeds and from rhizomes. It is usually found along the shallow margins of ponds and lakes; this lily can sometimes completely cover shallow ponds. Yellow water lily is extremely rare in Mississippi. |
Water lilies grow in
dense patches, excluding native species and even creating stagnant areas
with low oxygen levels underneath the floating mats. These mats make it
difficult to fish, water ski, swim, or even paddle a canoe through.
Although relatively slow-spreading, water lilies will eventually colonize
shallow water depths to six feet deep and can dominate the shorelines of
shallow lakes. For this reason, planting water lilies in lakes is not
recommended.
Water lilies reproduce by seed and also by new plants sprouting from the large spreading roots (underground stems called rhizomes). A planted rhizome will cover about a 15-foot diameter in about five years. Fragrant water lily has an interesting pollination strategy. Each white or pink flower has many petals surrounding both male and female reproductive parts, and is only open during the daytime for three days. On the first morning, the flowers produce a fluid in the cup-like center and are receptive to pollen from other flowers. However, they are not yet releasing pollen themselves. Pollen-covered insects are attracted by the sweet smell, but the flower is de+ signed so that when they enter the flower, they fall into the fluid. This washes the pollen off their bodies and onto the female flower parts (stigmas) causing fertilization. Usually the insects manage to crawl out of the fluid and live to visit other flowers, but occasionally the unfortunate creature will remain trapped and die when the flower closes during the afternoon. On the second and the third days, the flowers are no longer receptive to pollen, and no fluid is produced. Instead, pollen is released from the stamens (the flexible yellow match-shaped structures in the flower center). Visiting insects pick up the pollen and transport it to flowers in the first day of the flowering cycle. After the three days the flowers are brought under water by coiling their stalks. The seeds mature under water and after several weeks are released into the water. Water currents or ducks, which eat the seeds, distribute them to other areas. This flowering regimen is followed nearly throughout the summer, producing many eye-pleasing blooms and a large supply of seeds.
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