Листя латаття

The leaf

Water lilies are rooted in soil in bodies of water, with leaves and flowers floating on or rising from the surface. The leaves of Nymphaea are mostly floating, but submerged and emergent leaves occur as well. In Nymphaea and Nuphar the leaves are round, with a radial notch.

Leaf forms and size

The lamina of a Nymphaea leaf can be ovate, orbicular, elliptic, hastate or sagittate, and it has a deep sinus. Its width ranges from 2.5-3 cm to 40-60 cm, and the petioles are a few centimetres to 5-6 m long. In the family as a whole the leaves are simple and peltate or nearly so, with the blade submerged, floating or emergent and palmate to pinnate venation. Leaves are oval and heart-shaped in Barclaya, and fully circular in Victoria and Euryale.

Leaves of two species

In Nymphaea odorata the branched rhizomes give rise to long petioles that end in smooth floating leaves. These leaves change in form and texture depending on whether they are underwater or floating, and the underside has conspicuously raised veins, green or rarely reddish or reddish-purple. The petioles are thick, blackish green and spongy, and they keep lengthening as they age, pushing older leaves toward the margins of the plant. In colder climates the plants lose their leaves and go dormant during the winter, while the rhizomes stay alive below the water.

Uses and toxicity

All water lilies are poisonous and contain an alkaloid called nupharin in almost all of their parts. In a North American species the boiled young leaves and unopened flower buds are said to be edible.

The flowers

The flowers of Nymphaea are fragrant or inodorous. In Nymphaea odorata the flowers open each day and close again each night and are very fragrant.

Explore all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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