Saturday, May 28, 2011

White Waterlily

The white, or fragrant, water lily is an aquatic plant that is native through out most of North America. It is comprised of a large under water grouping of stems called rhizomes, which anchor the plant to the lake bottom, hollow stalks which transmit primarily oxygen from the leaves floating on the surface of the water down to the rhizomes, large flat rounded leaves, which are green above and purple below, and a flower which sits on its own stalk.
Reproduction occurs through seeding or rhizome division. The water lily has a unique form of pollination. When the flower first blossoms a fluid fills the center of the flower. The petals are designed in a way so that an insect visiting the flower will fall into the liquid. The liquid then dissolves any pollen that might be stuck on the insect. The next day no liquid is produced and instead pollen is released. After the flower is pollinated it is pulled under the surface of the water where it develops into a fruit that holds up to 2000 seeds.


8 comments:

Living In Williamsburg Virginia said...

Beautiful photo and excellent detail on this flower.

Darryl and Ruth : )

Modern Mom said...

It's lovely and looks so delicate.

My entry.

Adrienne Zwart said...

Fascinating post. I never knew that's how water lilies were pollinated!

Janet Roper said...

Hi,
I very much enjoy your blog and all the wonderful info you have on it, as well as the glorious photos.

I am the host of www.Talk2theAnimalsRadio.com, and I would be interested in talking with you about the possibility of being a guest on the show.

If this is something which interests you, feel free to contact me at Janet@Talk2theAnimals.com.

Many thanks for doing this blog!
Harmony,
Janet

SquirrelQueen said...

Beautiful water lilies, I really like the angle of your first photo.

Leora said...

You make me want to go on a canoe trip...we had the fun of paddling through lovely water lilies last spring, in southern New Jersey.

Tammie Lee said...

so beautiful, as is your dragonfly photos in the next post.

Chesney said...

Simply beautiful...love that elegant white!