Water Lily
Water Lily is a common name for a small family of aquatic flowering plants, and for its representative genus. The family includes about 70 species. Its leaves are usually peltate, that is, the leafstalk (petiole) is attached at the center of the leaf rather than at an edge. The leaves often float on the water's surface, maintaining their position, even if the water rises, by continuing stalk growth. Water lilies typically grow in quiet waters covering deep, saturated, oxygen-poor soils. Oxygen needed for root growth is supplied by air passages extending down the leaf petioles. Many water lilies are grown as pond ornamentals, and numerous hybrids have been produced. Members of the representative genus, with floating leaves, are also called lotus . Two species were both represented in ancient Egyptian art. The family also contains the gigantic lilies of the Amazon. The family is placed with three or four other families in an order that is cosmopolitan in distribution but restricted t...