Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Nymphaea mexicana
Common name
Yellow Waterlily
Family
Nymphaeaceae
Where found
Aquatic in fresh water to about 2 m deep. Sydney area and north. Canberra.
Notes
Introduced perennial herb. Rhizomes vertical, to about 30 cm long, about 4 cm thick, with long horizontal stolons produced at the tips. New plants produced at the nodes of the stolons. Fruit fleshy. Leaves almost round with a radial slit, 7- about 25 cm long, 70- about 250 mm in diameter, lower surface purplish with dark flecks, upper surface green, often with brown mottling about 10 mm in diameter; margins slightly wavy. Flowers bright yellow, sometimes white, 60- about 120 mm in diameter, with many 'petals'. Flowers standing up to 0.12 m above the water. Flowers mostly summer. Fruit enclosed by the 'petals', drawn beneath the water surface by the spiralling flower stalk.
General Biosecurity Duty all NSW. General Biosecurity Duty with additional restrictions in the Murray and Riverina areas, NSW (as Nymphaea species)
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Nymphaea~mexicana (accessed 20 April 2021)
Description partly based on Flora of North America: http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500827 (accessed 20 April 2021)
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