Nymphaeaceae (water lily) Aquatic plants with long stalks rooted in mud and floating or emergent platterlike leaves. Flowers showy, on spearate stalks.

 

..... basal lvs only, entire, heart-shaped leaves ..... ..... leaves nearly round .....
..... sinus us. more than half as long as the midvein narrow basal sinus seldom over half as long as midvein: lf stalks flattened on the upper side & narrowly winged floating & submersed lvs rarely present flat leaves leaf margin upturned
A. fls yellow ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
anthers shorter than the filaments: red stigmatic disk small pond-lily (1.micorphylla) notch of lf very narrow (more than 1/3lenght of leaf); smaller lvs; ponds; NF to NJ & PA ..... ..... ..... .....
anthers longer than the filaments: green or greenish stigmatic disk ..... spatterdock (2.variegata) flaoating lvs only; ponds; NF to DE ..... ..... .....
greenish stigmatic disk ..... ..... southern pond lily (3.advena= immigrant; in Europe) lvs w/ wide notch; us. sluggish streams; s. ME to Cuba ..... .....
B. fls white or rarely pink ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
seps seldom over 7cm ..... ..... ..... fragrant white water-lily (1.odorata v. odorata) along the coastal plain; NF to FL .....
fls avg. larger: seps up to 10cm ..... ..... ..... ..... tuberous water-lily (1.odorata v. gigantea) coastal plain; DE to FL & TX