The water lily - a charming and delicate white water lily - is nothing other than the famous fairy-tale overpowering grass. Rumor ascribes magical properties to it. She was endowed with the properties of protecting people, she could give strength to overcome the enemy, protect them from troubles and misfortunes, but she could also destroy the one who sought her with unclean thoughts.
The Slavs believed that the water lily was able to protect people from various troubles while traveling. Going on a long journey, people sewed water lily leaves and flowers into small amulet bags, carried them with them as an amulet and firmly believed that this would bring them good luck and protect them from misfortunes. 
There was also a kind of spell for this occasion: “I am driving in an open field, and in an open field the grass grows. I did not give birth to you, I did not water you. Mother earth gave birth to you, simple-haired girls and women who rolled cigarettes watered you. Overcome the grass! Overcome evil people: they would not think of me badly, they would not think of anything bad; 
Overcome the grass! Overcome high mountains, low valleys, blue lakes, steep banks, dark forests, stumps and logs. I will hide you, overpowering grass, near a zealous heart along the entire path and along the entire path!”
Common names: grass grass or white grass, balabolka, floating fish, mermaid flower or mermaid color, water poppy or water poppy, bliskalka, beaver, white hens, water companion, water color, white water lily.
The water lily is beautiful! This is one of the most beautiful plants. Since ancient times, the white water lily has been considered a symbol of beauty, purity and mercy. These large flowers with a golden mean grow in quiet reservoirs of our rivers and lakes. The water lily nymph is also called the “child of the sun”: its beautiful flowers open in the morning and close at dusk. 
"The blue lotus, or blue water lily (lat. Nymphaea caerulea) is an aquatic plant of the water lily family, a species of the genus Water Lily growing in East Africa (from the Nile Valley to the extreme south of the continent), India and Thailand."
There are many legends about the origin of this wonderful plant. They say that it got its name in honor of the nymphs that live, like these plants, in water. As is known from Greek mythology, nymphs are deities of nature: forests, mountains, lakes, rivers and seas. It's no surprise that the flowers named after them are beautiful. In Slavic fairy tales, the idea of water lilies is associated with the mysterious image of a mermaid. 
Scandinavian legends say that each water lily has its own friend - an elf, who is born with it and dies with it. According to popular beliefs, nymphs live in its flowers and leaves along with little elves. Leaves and flowers serve as boats for these little elves.
The corollas of flowers serve as both a home and a bell for the elves. 
During the day, the elves sleep in the depths of the flower, and at night they swing the pestle and ring the bell, calling their brothers to a quiet conversation. Some of them sit in a circle on a leaf, dangling their legs in the water, while others prefer to talk, swaying in the corollas of water lilies. 
When they get together, they sit in the capsules and row, row with oars, and the capsules then serve as boats or boats for them. The elves' conversations take place at a late hour, when everything on the lake has calmed down and fallen into deep sleep. 
Lake elves live in underwater crystal palaces built from shells. Pearls, yachts, silver and corals sparkle around the palaces. Emerald streams roll along the bottom of the lake, strewn with multi-colored pebbles, and waterfalls cascade onto the roofs of the palaces. The sun shines through the water into these dwellings, and the moon and stars call the elves to the shore. 
Switzerland, Goldfish and Lily
The ancient Greek legend about the water lily tells how a beautiful white nymph, inflamed with love for Hercules and did not receive a response from him, turned into a white water lily out of grief and love for him.
In Ancient Greece, the flower was considered a symbol of beauty and eloquence. Young girls wove garlands from them, decorated their heads and tunics with them; they even wove a wreath of water lilies for the beautiful Helen on her wedding day with King Menelaus and decorated the entrance to their bedroom with a wreath. 
The legend of the North American Indians says that the water lily appeared during the collision of the Polar and Evening Stars, from their sparks. These two stars argued among themselves who would get the arrow that the great Indian chief shot into the sky and collided in flight. 
According to North German belief, water lilies grew on the site of two dead mermaids who were killed by an evil nix (a mermaid in ancient German mythology) who lived in the lake.
In Germany they said that once a little mermaid fell in love with a knight, but he did not reciprocate her feelings. Out of grief, the nymph turned into a water lily. 
"Karelian Nymphea"
According to another legend, water lilies are the children of the beautiful countess, carried away into the mud by the king of the swamp. The grief-stricken countess went to the shore of the swamp every day. One day she saw a marvelous white flower, the petals of which resembled the complexion of her daughter, and the stamens resembled her golden hair. 
There is a belief that nymphs (mermaids) take refuge in the flowers and leaves of water lilies, and at midnight they begin to dance in circles and carry away people passing by the lake. If someone managed to somehow escape from them, then grief would dry him up. 
In the distant past, the entire coastal strip of Italy, from Pisa to Naples, was occupied by swamps. There the legend of the beautiful Melinda and the king of the swamp was born. The legend is that the water lilies are the children of the beautiful blond Countess Melinda and the ugly, scary swamp king who kidnapped her. Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful Melinda. 
on Yandex.Photos
And the swamp king was watching her all the time. The king's eyes twinkled when he looked at the beautiful girl, and although he was scary as hell, he nevertheless became Melinda's husband, and the yellow water lily helped him get the beauty - the closest relative of the white water lily, which has long personified betrayal and deceit.
Walking with her friends near a swampy lake, Melinda admired the golden floating flowers, reached for one of them, stepped on a coastal stump in which the ruler of the bog was hiding, and he carried the girl to the bottom. 
""scarlet flower"-2"
At the site of her death, snow-white flowers with a yellow core emerged. So, after the deceiving water lilies, water lilies appeared, meaning in the ancient language of flowers: “You must never deceive me.” 
Water lilies, Nikitsky Botanical Garden, Crimea
The egg pod blooms from late May to August. At this time, next to the floating leaves you can see large yellow, almost spherical flowers sticking high on thick stalks. 
The eggplant has long been considered a medicinal plant in folk medicine. Both the leaves and the thick rhizome lying on the bottom, up to 15 centimeters in length, and large, good-smelling flowers, reaching 5 centimeters in diameter, were used. 
They also tore off the egg capsule in order to decorate the home with flowers. And in vain: the flowers of the egg capsule, like the white lily, do not stand in vases. 
Kubyshka
The white water lily is protected by law, since there are very few of them left in the reservoirs of rivers and lakes. The water lily blooms for a long time, from late May to August. White lily flowers open in the early morning and close in the late evening. 
"There are nymphs on our lake. Rumor has it that some enthusiast dived from a boat and landed... Praise be to him. A little far from the shore... But away from vandals..)))"
If you come to the lake early in the morning, you can watch these flowers emerge from the water. This is an unforgettable sight! Something begins to rise from the depths of the lake, and a large bud appears on the surface.
In a matter of minutes it turns into a beautiful white flower. There is another one nearby, a little further away... The amazing thing is that the buds emerge just before sunrise, and open as soon as the sun's rays touch the surface of the water. 
You won't find them in the same position all day. From morning to evening, flowering water lilies follow the movement of the sun, turning their floating head towards its rays. At noon they open all their petals. Then their flowers begin to gradually close and the flower looks like an unopened bud. 
And here something interesting happens: the closed water lily flowers begin to slowly sink into the water. These lash-stems, shortening, draw the flowers along with them. Water lilies love the sun very much, a little clouds will come and they will slowly begin to close. 
The water lily leaf is buoyant, like a raft, simple in appearance, heart-shaped and thick, like a cake; There are air cavities inside it, which is why it does not sink. 
There is several times more air in it to support its own weight, the excess of which is necessary for unforeseen accidents: if, say, a bird or a frog lands, the leaf must hold them. 
The water lily belongs to the Water Lily family, which includes more than 50 species of perennials with powerful, fleshy rhizomes. A water lily is often mistakenly called a water lily.
This is an amazing flower. The white water lily (the Red Book of Russia includes it as a rare plant) among the Slavs was an obligatory component of various love spells. It was believed that this plant, taken on the road with you, would protect a person from any evil. Carl Linnaeus, a famous biologist who collected legends about this plant, was surprised by the fate of the nymph, rejected by Hercules, and turned into a water lily by the gods. Because of this, he decided to give the flower a Latin name in her honor - white nymphea.
Claude Monet, a French painter, painted “White Water Lilies” in oil on canvas in 1899. He reflected how beautiful the nature that surrounds us is.
White water lily (water lily) is a natural weather forecaster. There are a huge number of signs of plant behavior depending on the weather.
It has been observed over the years that if the flowers open early in the morning, the weather will be clear all day, while if it appears only at 9 am, it will rain. If it doesn’t appear at all, there will soon be a heavy and prolonged downpour.
White water lily: description
It is a stemless perennial herbaceous and aquatic plant with large, floating leaves. It belongs to the water lilies. It has a creeping rhizome, adjacent to it are heart-shaped leaves, as well as long stalks with white single flowers. Flowers with a large number of white petals, emit a light aroma, float on the water. Their calyx is four-leafed and green. Many stamens, radiate multipartite stigma. The fruits are spherical, green, and always ripen under water. Flowering occurs in June-July.
Flower names
The medicinal plant white water lily is nicknamed: white water lily, overpowering, water flower, Aquarius, adalen, white hens, water companion, water crown, balabolka, great lapushnik...
Places of growth
It grows in the European part of our country, in the southern part of Siberia, in the Urals, Belarus, Ukraine, Eastern Transcaucasia, and the North Caucasus. The white water lily's habitat is standing and slowly flowing water (lakes, ponds, river bays).
Recently, the conditions for the plant to live in nature have been deteriorating, therefore, these days it has been included in the Red Book.
Reproduction
Reproduction occurs by segments of rhizomes that have dormant buds. The cut should be sprinkled with ash or crushed charcoal. Leaves and roots do not tolerate drying, therefore, there is no need to prolong the division process. The plant is placed in a small container with clean water for transportation.
Composition of white water lily
The white water lily (its description is given in this article) contains tannins, starch, and the alkaloid nymphalin in its roots; in the petals - flavonoids, cardenomide nymphalins; in the leaves - tannins, oxalic acid, flavonoids; the seeds contain tannins, starch and fatty oil.
The rhizomes, leaves and flowers of the plant are used for medicinal purposes. Roots are stored in early autumn, leaves and flowers - in summer.
Medicinal properties
The white water lily, or rather its flowers, have a calming, antipyretic, analgesic, and hypnotic effect.
Harvesting and collection
The period for collecting water lilies is selected depending on the required part of it.
If these are roots, then collection should be carried out in early autumn, when a huge amount of nutrients has already accumulated in them. They are extracted from the bottom using hooks, then cleaned of leaf cuttings and small roots. Then they are washed, cut into equal-sized pieces and dried in a ventilated room or outside in the shade.
If these are buds or flowers of the white water lily plant, then you need to accurately select the time of collection. This should happen during flowering. In addition, they need to be collected before 5 pm, and if just buds, then before 7 am or immediately after 5 pm, since the flowers are submerged under water after this time. Mostly flowers are taken fresh, but if necessary, they are dried in a ventilated, shady place.
The leaves of the plant can be collected in the fall before the onset of cold weather around the clock. The leaves are dried under the same conditions as all other parts - in a ventilated, shady room.
The fruits and seeds of the water lily are collected during its flowering (it must be borne in mind that one flower blooms for only 4 days): for example, the seeds are taken directly from the surface of the water, where they float in “capsules”, while the fruits are taken at a shallow depth under water. Seeds and fruits need to be dried after collection.
Although not only these rules are recommended to be followed by magicians and healers. When various parts of the water lily are torn off, you should always appease the water spirit, since this plant is under its protection: this can be done by throwing a piece of bread or a few coins into the water.
When collecting the plant, you need to remember that the water lily is listed in the Red Books in many countries, therefore, it can only be collected in limited quantities.
Application
The white water lily plant is actively used in folk medicine. An infusion of flowers is used to quench thirst, as a soothing and antipyretic effective remedy. An aqueous infusion of these flowers is used for insomnia as a sleeping pill and sedative.
Medicinal preparations from the rhizomes and roots of the plant help reduce skin inflammation, while when crushed they are used as mustard plasters.
If you add the leaves of the white water lily to the roots of the plant, this decoction will help with constipation and jaundice. The roots, boiled in wort, are consumed by nursing women, thereby increasing the amount of milk.
An alcoholic tincture made from the leaves is drunk for urolithiasis. In case of hair loss, it is recommended to wash your hair with a decoction of the roots of the plant.
The infusion, which is prepared from the flowers of this medicinal plant, is used for baths and washes, in addition to relieving pain as an external remedy.
Dry rhizomes can be ground into flour and baked into bread.
Relieving pain with flowers
You will need a crushed flower (white water lily). Pour boiling water over it, then wrap it in gauze, and then apply it to the sore area.
Skin cleaning
You will need fresh white water lily petals. They need to be filled with water and left to boil for 15 minutes, then left to steep for 4 hours. With a ready-to-use product to wash your face, acne will disappear from your skin very soon.
Infusion of petals
A small amount of fresh petals of the white water lily should be poured into a glass of boiling water, held for an hour, filtered, and used internally to quench thirst in small sips in the presence of insomnia and fever. The white water lily flower also in this form is suitable for people suffering from ailments of the nervous system.
Heart weakness
Mix a couple of tablespoons of white water lily petals and red hawthorn flowers, pour a glass of boiling water, leave for an hour, then consume every 2 hours.
Contraindications
The use of such medicinal products, which are obtained from various parts of the water lily, should be under the supervision of a specialist. This is explained simply - the white water lily itself is very poisonous.
The Red Book of Russia, by the way, included the flower in the list of rare plants, so its extraction is now prohibited.
This plant is called a water lily after the shape of its ovary. Well, with the word lily in the name, everything is extremely simple: this word has become a collective word and means “beautiful flower.”
According to ancient myth, a nymph (i.e., a Greek mermaid) who died from unrequited love for Hercules turned into a white water lily (is this where the belief that the flower helps reciprocate feelings comes from?). The Hellenes considered the water lily a symbol of beauty and eloquence; girls decorated their heads and tunics with garlands of them. Elena the Beautiful also had such a wreath at her wedding with Menelaus, and the entrance to the newlyweds’ bedroom was decorated with water lilies
The Italian legend is even sadder. The swamp king set out to achieve marriage with the beautiful Melinda, and one day, when she admired the yellow egg pods (the Romans for some reason called her a symbol of treason and deceit), he turned into a stump from which he could reach the flower he liked, and then went under the water with the beauty. And where this happened, white flowers with a yellow core appeared on the water.
The Scandinavians, of course, could not do without elves. Their ancient legends claim that they sleep in the depths of a flower during the day, and at night, swinging a pestle like a bell tongue, they call their brothers for a conversation and ride on the water in water lily boats.
The North American Indians created a legend about how two stars laid claim to an arrow shot into the sky by a dying great leader. Rushing after her, they collided, and sparks rained down from the sharp impact. Having fallen down, they fell into the water and turned into white water lilies - lilies
Since time immemorial, this flower has been an object of worship and adoration among the northwestern Germans. They called the white water lily the swan flower and revered it so much that they even depicted 7 flowers in their coat of arms. These flowers are also depicted on the Frisian banner and coat of arms of the German province of Groningen.
However, in ancient Germany they not only revered this flower, but were also a little afraid of it. Legends tell that in ponds and lakes among the water lilies there live nyxes - beauties with very sweet and friendly faces and fish tails. They lure people into the water and then drag them to the bottom. In the Black Forest, in Germany, there is even a lake named Mummelsee - from the old German die Mumme - nymph. The lake is supposedly simply overrun with these creatures...
In Slavic mythology, nymphs and nyxes were replaced by mermaids - water beauties with a pale, beautiful face, a slender figure and a braid below the knees. Mermaids, like nyxes, also love water lilies and even sometimes turn into them, which is why the white water lily is often called the “mermaid” flower.
And the week following Trinity Day was popularly called “Russian”. There is a belief that it is at this time and a little earlier - in the Orthodox calendar on the seventh (Trinity-Semitic) and eighth (the same “mermaid”) week after Easter that mermaids most often come ashore. At midnight, in the light of the moon, they dance in circles, and sometimes they climb trees and laugh, attracting the attention of young boys and girls. And bad luck will come to those who succumb to their charms - they will be tickled to death and drowned. You can protect yourself from attacks by mermaids using a talisman made of wormwood or lovage (dawn grass).
But the mermaids were not the only danger. There was a belief that where these water beauties frolic, grass grows thicker and bread ripens better. This is how the ritual of seeing off mermaids from the village to the field arose. The girl, dressed as a mermaid, was led by a crowded procession outside the outskirts, where she was pushed into the village, after which she quickly ran away to the village. Over time, this ritual turned into one of the many amusements of Semik and mermaid week - chasing mermaids.
Another mention of the water lily in Russian folklore - it was this plant that was called the famous “overcome grass.” The rhizome, hung in the house, protected against various misfortunes, and carried with you as a talisman, helped to overcome various life difficulties. It was recommended to stock up on overpowering grass before childbirth, before an important date, or when going to court.
As is known from Greek mythology, nymphs are deities of nature: forests, mountains, lakes, rivers and seas. It's no surprise that the flowers named after them are beautiful. The genus water lily, or nymphea, includes about 50 species of herbaceous aquatic perennials with fleshy rhizomes. The leaves of the nymphs are round or heart-shaped, with a deep notch at the base, floating on the surface of the water.
The flowers are large, surprisingly beautiful star-shaped or cup-shaped. They can be of all kinds of colors - white, cream, dazzling yellow, orange, pink, dark red and even blue. There are varieties with simple, semi-double and double flowers. Some of the water lilies open during the day, others at night. Some have a pleasant aroma. The fruits are berry-shaped and ripen under water.
In very swampy places, the rhizomes of some water lilies, and in particular the white water lily, are sometimes intertwined so tightly that they form “islands” on which you can even walk, they are so strong. In the rhizome of the water lily, as in other parts of the plant, there is a complex system of air channels, which can be seen even with the naked eye. These channels not only ensure the plant’s breathing, but also help the leaves stay in the water column and on its surface.
Water lilies usually bloom in northern reservoirs in June, but the maximum number of flowers can be observed in August. In the southern regions, water lilies bloom already in May. Their flowers rise from the water and bloom in the morning, and in the evening they close and go back under water. If the weather is cloudy, then the water lilies do not rise from their watery bed.
Family: water lilies, or nymphaeae (Nymphaeaceae).
Homeland
The water lily plant is found in water bodies of temperate, subtropical and tropical regions around the globe.
Form: herbaceous plant.
Description
Water lily (water lily, nymphea) is a genus of herbaceous plants, including many species. The water lily is an exclusively decorative flower; many species are grown in cultivation. The leaves of the water lily are round in shape, green or reddish in color, freely floating on the surface of the water. Water lily flowers are floating or raised above the water on long straight peduncles. Different types of water lilies differ greatly both in the depth of immersion and in the diameter of flowers and leaves - from dwarf to completely huge.
The largest water lily in the world is the Amazonian water lily Victoria regia, named after the beautiful English queen. This is a giant water lily with leaves up to two meters in diameter, supporting the weight of a teenager (up to 50 kilograms) and amazing flowers that change color and aroma.
Winter-hardy water lily species
Water lily pure white , or snow-white water lily (N. candida) is a plant with powerful rhizomes and large (about 20 centimeters in diameter) dark green leaves. It blooms throughout the summer, but is not the most prolific of water lilies. The flowers are about 10 centimeters in diameter, snow-white, in accordance with the name. The stamens are bright yellow. An individual nymphea flower of this species lives for 3-5 days.
(N. alba) - distinguished by larger (up to 15 centimeters in diameter) flowers and leaves (about 30 centimeters). The leaves of the white water lily are dark green on top and reddish on the back. The flowers are creamy in color and come in pink and red forms. The root of the white water lily is located horizontally. White water lilies grow at depths from 50 centimeters to 2.5 meters.
Water lily tetrahedral (N. tetragona) - a medium-sized nymph with white or pinkish flowers up to 5 centimeters in diameter.
tuberous water lily , or knobby (N. tuberosa) is a large white-flowered water lily with fast-growing horizontal rhizomes. Depths of more than a meter are preferred.
Fragrant water lily (N. odorata) - very fragrant water lily. Rhizomes are horizontal, fast growing. The flowers are white or pink. Prefers depths from 40 to 80 centimeters. The leaf of the fragrant water lily is bright green, reddish on the back.
Dwarf water lily (N. pygmaea) is a water lily characterized by its very small size. The flowers are only 2-2.5 centimeters in diameter. The leaves are oval, dark green, crimson on the back. Planting depth - up to 30 centimeters. Suitable even for very small bodies of water.
Hybrid water lily (N. hybridum) is the combined name of garden species and varieties obtained through selection. Includes a wide variety of shapes and colors.
Non-winter-hardy species
Blue water lily (N. caerulea) - with fragrant blue or pinkish flowers. The blue water lily has narrow, pointed petals. Other names for the species are Nile water lily.
Spotted water lily , or tiger water lily (N. maculata) - an interesting species with variegated underwater leaves. The flowers are white, small (5-6 centimeters in diameter). Tiger nymphea blooms at night.
Growing conditions
Water lily is a flower that prefers sunny ponds. There are varieties that are quite shade-tolerant, but even for them full sunlight for at least a few hours a day is desirable. It is necessary to provide the water lily with opportunities for development: the area of the water surface that the nymph will occupy can be several square meters (depending on the species and variety). In addition, water lilies prefer ponds with standing or slowly flowing water. Accordingly, where water lilies grow, there should be no fountains or waterfalls. With a strong current, the plant will develop more slowly and flowering will be weakened.
Application
Water lily (water lily) is used for landscaping. A pond with water lilies will always look beautiful and will add natural charm and special charm to any garden. In July-August, when water lilies bloom, your site will look incredibly exotic. Of course, a lake with water lilies will look especially picturesque in.
Non-winter-hardy water lily species are used mainly in aquariums. However, it is quite possible to grow water lilies of non-winter-hardy species in garden ponds, provided that wintering is provided for them.
Care
In summer, the nymph requires practically no care. You can feed water lilies with granular fertilizer from time to time. One of the most important points is ensuring the wintering of water lilies. In a large body of water, winter-hardy water lily species can overwinter without any special shelter. If the water from the pond drains for the winter, you can cover the water lilies with peat, sawdust, and fallen leaves. Another option is to place containers of water lilies in buckets of water and bring them into the basement. Non-winter-resistant types of water lilies overwinter in aquariums or other containers in a warm and bright room.
Reproduction
Reproduction of water lilies is possible by cuttings of rhizomes, as well as by seed. Water lily seeds are sown in the soil at the bottom of a reservoir or in containers immersed in water. You can pre-germinate nymph seeds in warm water. Garden soil mixed with clay and sand is used as soil for nymphs. In this case, nymphs are planted in a reservoir in May - early June.
Rhizomes for division are selected with buds. It is advisable to immediately plant the separated piece of rhizome into a pond or keep it moist until planting. The cuttings are planted horizontally and sprinkled. After this, the container is placed in a pond. It is recommended to place the container with the plant in a shallow place in the spring, and then, as it grows, move it to greater depths.
You can learn more about how to plant water lilies, as well as about growing nymphs from the special one.
Diseases and pests
Water lily (nymphea) is a plant that gets sick extremely rarely. Among the pests, water lilies can be affected by aphids. As a rule, the plant itself does not suffer, but the buds may die without opening. The easiest way to wash off pests is with a stream of water from a hose. You should use insecticides in a pond with extreme caution so as not to poison the water or disturb its microflora.
Popular varieties
Varieties of dwarf water lily:
Varieties of tuberous water lily:
- - bright pink water lily with large flowers.
Water lilies, or nymphs, are aquatic plants from the genus of perennial herbaceous plants. They belong to the water lily or nymphaeaceae family. The genus of these plants is distributed in the temperate and tropical zones of the northern and southern hemispheres. Species that bloom especially beautifully are used for cultural purposes.
Features of water lily
In the family is about fifty species, which grow in places with running water, but a slow flow. Water lilies are very widespread, from tropical-equatorial latitudes to the forest-tundra belt. There are species that winter in freezing waters.
If you look at the water lilies in the photographs, you will see that their stems are powerful rhizomes that can be immersed horizontally in the ground or have the appearance of a tuber. A large number of anchor roots extend down from the tuber or rhizome nodes, which, in turn, hold the water lily in the substrate, and leaves and peduncles grow towards the surface.
There are big differences between underwater leaves and those that float on the surface. The underwater leaves have a broadly lanceolate, filmy shape and look like a cap, which serves to hide the buds and developing above-water leaves. The above-water part of the plant appears on the surface only in summer. The emergent leaves are heart-shaped, rounded or elliptical in shape, with a pronounced basal notch and a dense, leathery surface. The size depends on the type and variety. The color is also varied - green, reddish-burgundy and even variegated, which is why the popularity of using them for decoration is growing.
Passes through all vegetative parts of the plant many air channels. This allows the water lily to both breathe and stay afloat. In addition, the canals contain many sclereid cells. It is still not known for certain what they are intended for. Some say that the plant should not be eaten by snails, others that they strengthen the tissues of the water lily to protect it from damage.
Flowering nymphs
Water lilies bloom at different times, depending on where they grow. Pictures that are distributed on the Internet give an idea of the beauty of blooming water lilies. Northern plants begin to bloom in early summer, and southern ones in late spring. All nymphs have an interesting feature: they close their flowers in the evening or morning and submerge them under water.
In inclement weather they may not appear on the surface at all. The flower of the water lily (as it is popularly called) has a regular symmetrical shape and grows singly. This is clearly visible in the pictures. It has a long flexible peduncle and a double perianth. The size ranges from three to thirty centimeters, depending on the species. The flower emits a strong aroma that attracts insects.
White water lily propagation
Flower propagation is unique and happens as follows:
- The pollinated flower sinks to the bottom, where the berry-shaped multi-seeded leaflet fruit ripens.
- It contains about one and a half thousand small, black seeds, which, after the berry collapses, rush to the surface, as they have a mucous membrane and special floats.
- For some time they float on the surface of the water, where they are carried by the current or eaten by birds and fish because of their resemblance to caviar.
- The surviving seeds germinate and sink to the bottom.
It is worth noting that propagation by seeds is not the only and far from the main method of propagating nymphs. They mainly reproduce by rhizomes.
- White.
- Yellow.
- Red.
- Golden.
- Water lily "Victoria".
The white water lily (see photo in the gallery) is one of the few winter-hardy nymphs. Under natural conditions it grows in open areas European, Asian and African reservoirs. The leaves of the white flower are large, up to thirty centimeters, dark green in color and milky-white flowers, with a light aroma and up to fifteen centimeters in diameter.
Snow-white nymphea (pictures below) - grows in the region of central Russia, strongly resembles the species described above. The differences are in the shape of the leaf and the flower is slightly smaller but has a strong aroma.
Planting and fertilizing nymphs
The best time to plant water lilies is beginning of May, all summer and all September. It is permissible to plant the flower directly into the substrate at the bottom of the reservoir, and in small tanks it is very convenient to plant it in containers. With this planting, it is easier to replant or remove for the winter. It is better to plant in low, wide containers with drainage slits.
When planting water lilies sludge is used, taken at the bottom of any reservoir, although this does not play a big role. Old compost mixed with coarse sand and garden soil is more effective. The fertilizer will be bone meal, which is usually mixed with soil to prevent it from being washed away by water. Although in this case it quickly turns into minerals, dissolves in water and eventually leads to its flowering. The ideal option is to mix fertilizers with clay and place them under the rhizomes.
White water lily flower
