Belonging to the family Nimphaeceae, a family gathering more than 50 species of aquatic plants, Nymphaea borrowed its name from the Greek “Νύμφη”, a word that means “nymph”. Related to mithology, the word perfectly underlines the sublime fragility expressed by these aquatic plants. Nymphea is also known as Water Lily.
Other species belonging to the genus are: Nymphaea alba, a European species of Water Lily, Nymphaea caerulea or the Egiptian Blue Water Lily, Nymphaea capensis or the Cape Blue Water Lily, Nymphaea gigantea or the Australian Water Lily, Nymphaea odorata or the Fragrant Water Lily and Nymphaea leibergii also known as Dwarf Water Lily. All these species, along with many others, are responsible of given an air of purity and a charming, romantic look to any lake, garden lake or place in which it grows. It is good to know though that the Water lilies used in decorating gardens are hybrids and that, even if Nymphaea is also called Water Lily, it has no connections at all with the real lily.
Nymphaea is astonashing not only because of its flowers but also because of its leaves. The flowers, having a diversified palette of colors such as white and blue or even nuances of pink and red, can also change color in time. One of the species known for doing this is Nymphaea Indiana, a species that changes its color from a yellow one with golden influences to a red one.
Water Lilies have as main environments those with plenty of sun and calm water and the perfect period for the planting process is from spring to fall. In the process should be taken in consideration the depth of the water, because, one bigger than needed may cause anomalies and the Water Lily might not bloom. But, in case it does bloom, the flower will last a period of 3 or 5 days.
The Water Lily has no major problems when it comes to pests and diseases and, even though the plant may be affected by one of them, the effect will not be permanent.
Nymphaea has managed to make famous the French painter Claude Monet because of his many paintings embodying Water lilies.
Nymphaea Pictures Gallery
