What kind of aquatic plant is the water lily?

Alternative names for the water lily

Ziwulian, pink water lily, wild water lily, dwarf water lily, pygmy water lily

Morphological characteristics of the water lily

The leaves of the water lily are round or nearly round, and may also be ovate, while some varieties are lanceolate or arrow-shaped; the leaf margins are entire, but the leaf margins of tropical water lilies are wavy; the upper surface of the leaf is green and glossy, while the underside is purplish-red, and the leaves of some varieties have dark brown spots or mottled coloring; the veins may be obvious or may not be very obvious. In a few varieties of tropical water lilies, small plantlets grow between the top of the large sinus and the point where the leaf stalk attaches, commonly known as "vivipary."

The water lily flower is composed of organs such as sepals, petals, stamens and pistils, style, carpels, and flower stalk.The flowers are solitary and bisexual. There are about 4-5 sepals, green or purplish-red, with black dots amid the green, and their shape is lanceolate, narrowly ovate, or oblong. The flower buds are long peach-shaped or peach-shaped; the petals are usually ovate, broadly ovate, oblong, or rectangular, and the petal tips are relatively pointed or slightly blunt. Flower colors include red, pink, blue, purple, white, etc. Petals may be single, multi-petaled, or double. Therefore the size, shape, and color of the petals all vary by variety. From this a gorgeous appearance is formed. The ovary is superior to perigynous; before the flower opens, the stamens wrap around above the carpels, and after maturity they open into a sickle shape; the sepals, petals, stamens, etc. are arranged in a spiral pattern above the receptacle and the ovary wall. The carpels are arranged in a ring and embedded within the receptacle in a connate state, with the upper styles separate and the stigmas thread-like, centered on a milky protrusion and appearing funnel-shaped, secreting stigmatic fluid at maturity, and the stigmatic fluid mainly contains glucose, sugars, and amino acids to attract insects for pollination.

The fruit of the water lily is irregular to hemispherical, maturing in water and dehiscing irregularly; the seeds are relatively small, elliptical or spherical; most have an aril.

The water lily is a perennial floating-leaved aquatic herbaceous plant, with a relatively thick rhizome that is erect or creeping.

The flower language of the water lily

Like the Chinese lotus, the water lily is regarded as an embodiment of holiness and beauty, and is often used as an offering to goddesses. In the New Testament, there is also the saying of "a holy thing, emerging unsullied from the mud."