Nuphar lutea - Yellow Pond Lily

Yellow Pond Lily is an aquatic plant that grows in shallow water and wetlands, with its roots in the sediment and its leaves floating on the water surface. It can grow in water up to 5 m deep. It is usually found in shallower water, often in ponds. Since the flooded soils are deficient in oxygen, aerenchyma in the leaves and rhizome transport oxygen to the rhizome. Often there is mass flow from the young leaves into the rhizome, and out through the older leaves. The flower is solitary, terminal, held above the water surface. It is hermaphrodite, 2-4 cm diameter, with five or six large bright yellow sepals and numerous small yellow petals largely concealed by the sepals. The flower is followed by a green bottle-shaped fruit, containing numerous seeds which are dispersed by water currents. The fruit shape inspired the common name brandy bottle. The species is less tolerant of water pollution than water-lilies in the genus Nymphaea. Yellow Pond Lily is native to Europe, temperate Asia and West Asia. It is cultivated in parts of India. Flowering: June-September.