About Nymphaea candida C.Presl
Nymphaea candida C.Presl is a perennial, aquatic, rhizomatous herb. It has unbranched rhizomes that reach 5 cm wide. Its floating leaves are petiolate, stipulate, oval to suborbicular, with an entire margin and a deep basal sinus; these leaves are 10–30 cm long and up to 25 cm wide. Oblong submerged leaves have a thin lamina and short petioles. Its main petioles are thick, terete, smooth, 30–100(–160) cm long, and contain air canals.
The flowers are bisexual, actinomorphic, 5–15 cm wide, and float on the water surface. There are 4(–5) oblong to ovate-oblong sepals, measuring 3.8 cm long and 1.3 cm wide. The flower has 12–20 white petals 3–5.5 cm long; petals gradually transition into stamens and decrease in size toward the flower center. The androecium is made up of 32–70 stamens, while the gynoecium contains 6–14 carpels. The stigmatic disk is concave and coloured red or yellow. The fruit is green to red, ovoid to spherical, 1.9–4.4 cm wide, retains persistent sepals, and bears ellipsoid, brown, arillate seeds that are 4–6 mm long and 3–4 mm wide.
This species grows in quiet freshwaters across Eurasia. As an aquatic plant, it grows exclusively in water, occurring mainly in ponds, lakes, and slow-flowing streams. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant for water gardens.
