Lily Pads
Home Lily Pads Beavers Other Animals Photo Gallery Historical Info Links

 

How much of beauty, of color, as well as form, on which our eyes daily rest goes unperceived by us! -- Henry David Thoreau

Lily pads and pond grass (91KB)Variety of lily pads (167KB)Most of Towne Pond is covered with lily pads for more than half the year. The three types of plants with floating leaves on the pond are shown on this page: fragrant water lily, water shield, and spatterdock. All three types are visible in the image on the left. Click on any picture for an enlarged view.

 

New fragrant water lily with pink outer petals (58KB)Side view of fragrant water lily (60KB)Fragrant water lily (30KB)The fragrant water lily (nymphaea adorata) has large, circular floating leaves, with a slit to the center. The leaves are attached to long rhizomes buried in the mud. The flowers close at dusk and only open in the full sun.

   

Water shield flower (38KB)Water shield (brasenia schreben) has oval floating leaves about three inches long. Stems connect the leaves to rootstocks buried in mud. The purple flowers are small (about 3/4 of an inch). Apparently, this plant is edible.




Spatterdock flower, side view (45KB)Spatterdock fllower, young (37KB)Spatterdock flower, mature (39KB)Like water lilies, the spatterdock or cow lily (nuphar lutea) have large floating leaves, but the spatterdock leaves are heart-shaped. Thick stems connect the leaves to large rhizomes in the mud. This plant is also edible.

 

 

Feedback is welcome: mailto:Roth.Scott@sbcGlobal.net

Copyright (c) 2000-2011 Scott Roth. All rights reserved.