Nymphaea candida C. Presl

Nymphaea species are aquatic perennial herbs, laticiferous, rooted. Rhizomes erect or creeping, stoloniferous and sometimes branched. Leaves polymorphic, sublate, hastate, sagittate, deltoid to suborbicular, usually floating or submerged, membranous when young and coriaceous, prominently veined when mature, long petiolate. Flowers bisexual, usually solitary and floating, rarely submerged, yellow, white, pink, red and purple with long peduncles, sepals 4, free, hypogynous, petals 8 to numerous, hypogynous to perigynous. Stamens numerous, inflexed, shorter than petals and sepals, dorsifixed, filaments longer than anthers, anthers partially sunken, carpels 5-35, usually united partially or fully. ovary superior, ovules numerous. Fruits are irregularly dehiscent, when non-schizocarpic it is a berry, ovoid or globose, crowned, with green filaments, ripened under water, seed globose, enclosed in a fleshy bell shaped aril, smooth or with ridges.

Nymphaea species flowers are complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels and ovary. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects. Flowering/Fruiting: April-December.

Seeds may be dispersed by autochory i.e., self dispersal, hydrochory i.e., water dispersal.

Aquatic perennial herbs, laticiferous, rooted. Rhizomes erect or creeping, stoloniferous and unbranched. Leaves polymorphic, suborbicular to cordate, about 10-20 x 9-19 cm across, base deeply hastate or cordate, margin enitre, apex rounded, obtuse to retuse, lowest pair of veins straight and divergently produced and basal lobes, basal lobes unequal, usually floating or submerged, glabrous above, membranous when young and chartaceous, coriaceous, prominently veined when mature beneath, long petiolate, buds acute at the apex. Flowers bisexual, usually solitary and floating, white, about 10-20 cm across, with long peduncles, receptacle weakly tetragonous, sepals 4, free, ovate-oblong, apex obtuse, about 3-5 x 1.2 x 1.5 cm across, petals about 12-24, oblong-ovate, base attenuate, apex obtuse, white, outer ones shorter than the of sepals. Stamens about 40, distributed up to summit of ovary, lanceolate, about 2.5-3.5 cm across, filaments of innermost stamens filiform, lanceolate, never narrower than anthers, anthers partially sunken, carpels completely united, ovary superior, about 6-10 loculate, stigma concave, yellow and stigmatic appendages incurved, triangular-ovate, flattened, about 2-3 mm long, sulcate inside. Fruit berry semiglobose-oblong, about 2.5-3.5 cm across. Seeds ellipsoidal, smooth, dull black, about 3-4 x 2 mm.

Nymphaea species are susceptible to insect pests like water-lily beetle, water lily aphid. Diseases like water lily leaf spots, crown rots and brown spots.

Ponds and lakes and slow flowing streams, altitude 1200-1800 m.

Not evaluated (IUCN).

It is in traditional Uighur medicine to treat headache, cough, hepatitis and hypertension in China. Laboratory studies have shown that it good antioxidant, while treating liver injury in rats.