Spermatophyta: Dicotyledonae: Archichlamydeae: Nymphaeales

Nymphaeaceae - Water lily family

Mendonça, F.A. (1960) Nymphaeaceae Flora Zambesiaca 1(1)

Description of the family

Aquatic, perennial herbs with rhizomes, rooted in the ground. Stipules 0. Leaves alternate, floating and usually ± peltate. Flowers bisexual, actinomorphic, solitary, pedunculate, large and handsome, floating, emergent or, rarely, submerged. Sepals 4-6, green or coloured. Petals 5-numerous, some ± sepaloid. Stamens numerous, sometimes with petaloid filaments. Carpels 6-numerous, united. Ovary superior or inferior with 1 or numerous ovules. Fruit fleshy or spongy. Seeds with a fleshy aril.

Worldwide: 6 genera and 75 species, cosmopolitan.

Malawi: 1 genus and 3 taxa.

Links to genera: View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this family

Genus	Content
Nymphaea L.	Description, Image

Other sources of information about Nymphaeaceae:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Nymphaeaceae
Flora of Burundi: Nymphaeaceae
Flora of Caprivi: Nymphaeaceae
Flora of the DRC: Nymphaeaceae
Flora of Mozambique: Nymphaeaceae
Flora of Rwanda: Nymphaeaceae
Flora of Zambia: Nymphaeaceae
Flora of Zimbabwe: Nymphaeaceae
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Nymphaeaceae

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Nymphaeaceae
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Nymphaeaceae
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Nymphaeaceae
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Nymphaeaceae
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Nymphaeaceae
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Nymphaeaceae
JSTOR Plant Science: Nymphaeaceae
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Nymphaeaceae
Wikipedia: Nymphaeaceae
Plants of the World Online: Nymphaeaceae
Tropicos: Nymphaeaceae