White water lily Nymphaea alba

Other names under which you may encounter it are water rose, water lily, white camel's foot, lotus and mermaid.
The white water lily is a perennial aquatic, herbaceous plant. Under the water, the fleshy rhizome develops, which spreads horizontally along the muddy bottom. Leaves grow from it every spring. There is no stem. Peturi leaves reach up to 30 cm in diameter, with long petioles floating on the surface of the water and sometimes protruding above it. Their shape is rounded or short-ovate, deeply incised at the base. They are dark green in color, reddish below. Young leaves are curled along the midrib and are erect. At first, they have a reddish hue, and subsequently turn green. The flowers are large, up to 12 cm in diameter. Petals are 20 - 25, white, entire. The outer ones are longer than the sepals, and the inner ones gradually turn into numerous stamens. The flowers develop on long stalks that emerge straight from the rhizome and also float on the surface of the water. They bloom from June to October. On sunny days, the flower is open throughout the day and emits a faint fragrance, at night they close. The fruit is spongy, multi-nested and ripens under water. The seeds are 2 - 3 mm, elliptical in shape.
The white water lily is found in marshes, ponds and slow-moving waters. In Bulgaria, it was found along the Black Sea coast - the Ropotamo river, the Arkutino swamp, the mouth of Kamchia, Lake Shablen, in North-Eastern Bulgaria - ez. Srebarna, fishponds near the village of Nova Cherna, in the Danube plain, Thracian lowland - the overflows of the Maritsa river.
It has disappeared from many places due to the drying up of swamps, the inconstant flow of rivers and water pollution. In the past, it was found in the Tundzhan hilly plain near Yambol, in the Znepol region in the Dragoman swamp, in the Western Rhodopes in the former Batashko swamp. For this reason, it is included in the Red Book of Bulgaria in the "endangered" category.

Author: Associate Professor Dr. Svetla Dalakchieva