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.
Nymphaea
A bright-field micrograph of a cross-section of a floating leaf of Nymphaea alba. E1: upper epiderm E2: lower epiderm P: palisade mesophyll M: spongy mesophyll B: vascular bundle I: intercellular gap S: sclerenchyma
Complete specimen of Nymphaea cf. gardneriana Planch. with several floating leaves, as well as submerged leaves with scale bar (50 cm) on a white background
Complete specimen of Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea (Savigny) Verdc. with scale bar (50 cm) on a white background
Nymphaeaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly called water lilies. They live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains five genera with about 70 known species. Water lilies are rooted in soil in bodies of water, with leaves and flowers floating on or emergent from the surface. Leaves are round, with a radial notch in Nymphaea and Nuphar, but fully circular in Victoria and Euryale.
Nymphaeaceae
Flowering Barclaya longifolia specimen, Thailand
Flower of Victoria cruziana, Santa Cruz water lily
Flowering Euryale ferox specimen cultivated in the Botanischer Garten Berlin-Dahlem, Germany