Bring a zen-like tranquility to your pond with the fragrant, white flowers and large, round pads of this familiar aquatic perennial. The large, many-petaled flowers (another common name is American white waterlily) bloom June through September, opening in the morning and closing by afternoon or in cloudy conditions. This undemanding beauty thrives in shallow water and adapts to any type of soil and light level! The floating, deciduous leaves are up to 10 inches wide and have a much thicker cuticle than most aquatic plants. The increased layers of tissue allow it to tolerate variable sunlight, warm- and cold-water systems, and variable levels of acidity.
 
Fragrant white waterlily is one of the most common white waterlilies in eastern North America. It's found in different parts of Ohio, but especially in the northern half. Every part of the plant is attractive to wildlife: the flowers attract a wide variety of pollinators, the  waxy leaves are important for dragonflies and damselflies, turtles feed on the leaves and fruits, and muskrats chew on the rhizomes. The spongy leaf stalk contains four main air channels to transport gases, especially oxygen, from the leaves to the rhizomes buried in the muck. Sometimes chunks of rhizomes resembling octopus tentacles break off and float off. These rhizomes can sprout to start new waterlily colonies.
 
After pollination, up to 2,000 seeds may develop within one flower. The water-borne seeds contain trapped air to help them float for several days. They can also survive ingestion by ducks and other waterfowl. Eventually, the dispersed seeds sink and establish themselves in the substrate. 
  
Native habitats include bogs, lakes, sluggish streams, and quiet water up to 5 or 6 feet deep. Use in bog or pond areas and in water gardens.
 
Plant Characteristics:
Reaches 1-6' tall depending on the depth of the water. Height above the water is typically 2-4" but can be a bit higher.
 
Grows in full sun to full shade.
 
Thrives in a wide range of soil, including sandy, loamy, and clay.
 
Flowers have numerous white (sometimes pink and rarely yellow) petals. Forty or more yellow stamens surround a central ovary and disk-shaped stigma.
 
Leaves are round are green above and red-purple underneath. Bisecting the leaf is a single slit that extends from the outer edge of the leaf inward along the radius of the leaf.
 
An individual stalk attaches the leaf to a thick, fleshy rhizome. Rhizomes spread easily to form colonies.
 
Reproductive System: flower contains both male and female parts (perfect/bisexual). 
 
Wildlife Value:
Primary pollinators are the experienced sweat bee (Apis mellifera) and the European honey bee (Lasioglossum versatum). Waterfowl and mammals eat the buoyant seeds and other parts of the plant.
 
Medicinal, Edible, and Other Uses: 
A tea or a poultice of the roots have been used to treat TB, bronchitis, diarrhea, dysentery, gastrointestinal inflammation, gonorrhoea, vaginitis, vaginal discharge, inflamed glands, swellings, mouth sores, boils, tumors, and inflamed skin. 
 
The flower buds may be cooked as a vegetable or pickled. Young flowers may be eaten raw. Leaves may be eaten raw or cooked and are used in soups and stews. Roots may be boiled or roasted. Ripe seeds may be cooked or ground into a meal.
 
Resources:
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=nyod
 
Montana State University: https://www.montana.edu/extension/invasiveplants/extension/monthly-weed-posts/2022-july-fragrant-water-lily.html#:~:text=Reproduction%20can%20occur%20both%20sexually,and%20produce%20vegetative%20structures%20simultaneously
 
Ohio Div of Wildlife: https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/ohiodnr.gov/documents/wildlife/backyard-wildlife/Pub5530_WetlandPlantsWEB_R1221.pdf
 
Plants for a Future: https://pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?latinname=Nyphaea+odorata#:~:text=The%20species%20is%20hermaphrodite%20(has,basic%20(mildly%20alkaline)%20soils.
 
USDA Forest Service: https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/nymphaea_odorata.shtml#:~:text=This%20plant%20is%20generally%20found,start%20new%20water%20lily%20colonies