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Nymphaea elegans Hook.
Tropical Royalblue Waterlily
Florida native
An occasional water-lily of ponds, ditches and cypress swamps, mostly in counties along the peninsula's western coast, inland into Hendry County plus Duval County in northeast Florida.
The solitary flowers are held above the water and may superficially appear white, but on closer inspection can be seen to be tinted with blue or violet. The circular leaves have deep rounded notches. The upper surface of the leaves are green and the underside is purple.
Nymphaea elegans is a member of the Nymphaeaceae - Water-lily family.
Other species of the Nymphaea genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Nymphaea mexicana - YELLOW WATER LILY
Nymphaea ordorata - AMERICAN WHITE WATERLILY
Nymphaea pubescens - HAIRY WATER LILY
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
iNaturalist profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Jan 24, 2024
