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Nymphaea odorata
Also called Fragrant Water Lily, American Water Lily, American White Water Lily, Fragrant White Water Lily, American Waterlily, Fragrant Waterlily, Pond Lily
Nymphaea odorata is a rhizomatous aquatic plant native to North America, grown in shallow ponds and slow waters. It needs full sun and still water to bloom well, and its fragrant white flowers open by day and close at night.
Nymphaea odorata, also known as the American white waterlily, fragrant water-lily, beaver root, fragrant white water lily, white water lily, sweet-scented white water lily, and sweet-scented water lily, is an aquatic plant belonging to the genus Nymphaea. It can commonly be found in shallow lakes, ponds, and permanent slow moving waters throughout North America where it ranges from Central America to northern Canada. It is also reported from Brazil and Guyana.
The lignans nymphaeoside A and icariside E, and the flavonols kaempferol 3-O-alpha-l-rhamnopyranoside (afzelin), quercetin 3-O-alpha-l-rhamnopyranoside (quercitrin), myricetin 3-O-alpha-l-rhamnopyranoside (myricitrin), quercetin 3-O-(6'-O-acetyl)-beta-d-galactopyranoside, myricetin 3-O-beta-d-galactopyranoside and myricetin 3-O-(6'-O-acetyl)-beta-d-galactopyranoside can be found in N. odorata.
The fragrant water-lily has both medical and edible parts. The seeds, flowers and rhizomes can all be eaten raw or cooked. The root can be boiled to produce a liquid which can be gargled to treat sore throats or drunk to treat diarrhea. The rhizomes were also used by Native Americans to treat coughs and colds. The stem can be placed directly on teeth to treat a toothache.
White Water-lily · Dotleaf waterlily · Nymphaea nouchali var. zanzibariensis · Giant waterlily · Yellow waterlily · Egyptian lotus · Blue Lotus · Hairy Water Lily · Pygmy Rwandan waterlily · Waterlily
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Nymphaea odorata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
