Day Waterlily

Nymphaea nouchali

Introduced

At a glance

Family: Nymphaeaceae
Genus: Nymphaea
Status: Introduced to Florida
Sightings: 34 verified in Florida
Also called: Red and Blue Waterlily, Cape Water Lily, Cape Blue Waterlily
Formerly: Nymphaea cyanea

About

Nymphaea nouchali, often known by its synonym Nymphaea stellata, or by common names blue lotus, star lotus, red water lily, dwarf aquarium lily, blue water lily, blue star water lily or manel flower, is a water lily of genus Nymphaea. It is native to southern and eastern parts of Asia, and is the national flower of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. This species is usually considered to include the blue Egyptian lotus N. nouchali var. caerulea. In the past, taxonomic confusion has occurred, with the name Nymphaea nouchali incorrectly applied to Nymphaea pubescens.

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article “Nymphaea nouchali”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where it grows in Florida

PanhandleNorthCentral South Keys

Central: Hillsborough, Manatee, Orange, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota
South: Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach
Keys: Monroe

10 of 67 counties, from research-grade iNaturalist observations. They show where people have photographed it, not every place it grows — absence here isn't proof it's absent.