White Waterlily
Nymphaea alba, also known as the European White Waterlily, White Lotus, or Nenuphar, is an aquatic flowering plant of the family Nymphaeaceae.
It grows in water from 30-150 centimeters deep and likes large ponds and lakes. The leaves can be up to thirty centimeters in diameter and they take up a spread of 150 centimeters per plant. The flowers are white and they have many small stamens inside.
The red variety came from lake Fagertärn in the forest of Tiveden, Sweden, where they were discovered in the early 19th century. The discovery led to a large scale exploitation which nearly made it extinct in the wild before it was protected.
It is found all over Europe and in parts of North Africa and the Middle East in freshwater.
It contains the active alkaloids nupharine and nymphaeine, and is a sedative and an aphrodisiac/anaphrodisiac depending on sources. Although roots and stalks are used in traditional herbal medicine along with the flower, the petals and other flower parts are the most potent. Alcohol can be used to extract the active alkaloids, and it also boosts the sedative effects.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymphaea_alba - 13.06.2010
White Waterlily
Mostly we only notice the aquatic leaves and flowers of the Waterlily, but it also develops leaves which remain under the surface, and also contribute to the anaerobiosis of the plant.
