Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Nymphaea caerulea
Common name
Cape Waterlily
Family
Nymphaeaceae
Where found
Aquatic in fresh water. Sydney area and north.
Notes
Introduced perennial herb with small tubers that may develop into short vertical rhizomes. Fruit fleshy. Leaves basal, floating, round with a radial slit, 30–40 cm long, 300-400 mm in diameter, lower surface suffused with maroon, upper surface green, margins irregularly wavy to almost toothed, both surfaces hairless. Flowers blue, white or rarely blue-pink, 70-150 mm in diameter, with many 'petals', standing about 0.3 m above the water surface. Flowers single. Fruit enclosed by the 'petals', drawn beneath the water surface by the spiralling flower stalk.
Nymphaea capensis in PlantNET.
General Biosecurity Duty all NSW. General Biosecurity Duty with additional restrictions in the Murray and Riverina areas, NSW (as Nymphaea species)
PlantNET description (as Nymphaea capensis): http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Nymphaea~capensis (accessed 20 April 2021)
Description partly based on Flora of North America (as Nymphaea capensis): http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500823 (accessed 20 April 2021)
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