page_title: Nymphaea
section_title: Taxonomy
hierarchical_section_title: Nymphaea / Taxonomy
caption_attribution_description: English: I have a robust and thickened rhizome. My dimorphous leaves, floating on the water, are in rotund or ovate shapes, with sinuses in their bases, in cordate or sagittate shapes. I grow in buffalo ponds and natural wetlands, favoring soil rich in organic matter.
context_page_description: Nymphaea is a genus of hardy and tender aquatic plants in the family Nymphaeaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. Many species are cultivated as ornamental plants, and many cultivars have been bred. Some taxa occur as introduced species where they are not native, and some are weeds. Plants of the genus are known commonly as water lilies, or waterlilies in the United Kingdom. The genus name is from the Greek νυμφαία, nymphaia and the Latin nymphaea, which mean "water lily" and were inspired by the nymphs of Greek and Latin mythology.
context_section_description: This is one of several genera of plants known commonly as lotuses. It is not related to the legume genus Lotus or the East Asian and South Asian lotuses of genus Nelumbo. It is closely related to Nuphar lotuses, however. In Nymphaea, the petals are much larger than the sepals, whereas in Nuphar, the petals are much smaller. The process of fruit maturation also differs, with Nymphaea fruit sinking below the water level immediately after the flower closes, and Nuphar fruit remaining above the surface.
  Subdivisions of genus Nymphaea:
  Subgenus:
  Anecphya
  Brachyceras
  Hydrocallis
  Lotos
  Nymphaea:
  section Chamaenymphaea
  section Nymphaea
  section Xanthantha
  Nymphaea alba – white water lily (type species)
  Nymphaea amazonum – Amazon water lily
  Nymphaea ampla – dotleaf water lily
  Nymphaea blanda
  Nymphaea caerulea – blue Egyptian lotus
  Nymphaea calliantha
  Nymphaea candida
  Nymphaea capensis – Cape blue waterlily
  Nymphaea colorata
  Nymphaea conardii – roundleaf water lily
  Nymphaea elegans – tropical royalblue water lily
  Nymphaea fennica
  Nymphaea flavovirens
  Nymphaea gardneriana
  Nymphaea gigantea – giant water lily
  Nymphaea glandulifera– sleeping beauty water lily
  Nymphaea heudelotii
  Nymphaea jamesoniana – James' water lily
  Nymphaea leibergii – Leiberg's water lily
  Nymphaea lotus – Egyptian white water lily
  Nymphaea lotus f. thermalis
  Nymphaea macrosperma
  Nymphaea mexicana – yellow water lily
  Nymphaea miami - called as Miami Rose
  Nymphaea micrantha
  Nymphaea nouchali – blue lotus
  Nymphaea odorata – fragrant water lily
  Nymphaea pubescens – hairy water lily
  Nymphaea rubra – India red water lily
  Nymphaea rudgeana
  Nymphaea stuhlmannii
  Nymphaea sulfurea
  Nymphaea tetragona – pygmy water lily
  Nymphaea thermarum
  Nymphaea violacea
caption: Nymphaea stellata
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