I have always been fascinated by the water lily flowers. These flowers rise up elegantly from the mud below to bloom with majesty and grace above the water. Through the years, I have photographed these flowers whenever the opportunity presents, and here are samples of my water lily flowers in different colours.

Nymphaeaceae  is a family of flowering plants, commonly called water lilies. They live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains five genera with about 70 known species. Water lilies are rooted in soil in bodies of water, with leaves and flowers floating on or emergent from the surface. The leaves are round, with a radial notch in Nymphaea and Nuphar, but fully circular in Victoria and Euryale. The beautiful nature of water lilies has led to their widespread use as ornamental plants. 

I grew this yellow water lily flower from a rhizome purchased from Malaysia in 2004. The plant bloomed a few times before it died.

​The flowers of most species have many stamens (male reproductive structures). Some flowers open only in the morning or in the evening to attract insect pollinators. The fruit is usually nutlike or berrylike. Some fruits ripen underwater until they rupture or decay, and the seeds then float away or sink. Some water lilies also have submerged leaves. All members of the family are perennial except for the genus Euryale, an annual or short-lived perennial found only in Asia.

A pink and relative common colour lily, growing in my pond.

This white flower was from one of my lily plants that has since died. A beautiful large flower.

The Blue Egyptian water lily or sacred blue lily.

​Nymphaea caerulea, also known as the Blue Egyptian water lily or sacred blue lily,  The flower buds rise to the surface over a period of two to three days, and when ready, open at approximately 9–9:30 am and close about 3 pm. The flowers have pale bluish-white to sky-blue or mauve petals, smoothly changing to a pale yellow in the centre of the flower. This beautiful specimen was shot at the Singapore Botanical Gardens. 

A solid dark red flower growing near the information counter at Botanic Gardens.

A purple coloured water lily. Taken in April 2012 at Borobudur in Central Java. Purple and gold, colours that are associated with royalty, reflect Nature’s beauty.

A new water lily hybrid which I saw recently for the first time, a double petaled variety, purple coloured lily growing at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

The largest water lilies are those of the tropical South American genus Victoria, comprising two species of giant water lilies. The leaf margins of both the Amazon, or royal, water lily (V. amazonica, formerly V. regia) and the Santa Cruz water lily (V. cruziana) have upturned edges, giving each thickly veined leaf the appearance of a large, shallow pan 60 to 180 cm (about 2 to 6 feet) across and accounting for its common name, water platter. The fragrant flowers of Victoria have 50 or more petals and are 18 to 46 cm (about 7 to 18 inches) wide. They open white toward evening and shade to pink or reddish two days later before they wither, to be replaced by a large berrylike fruit. Growing at Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Turning pink the second night.

The flowers of V. amazonica are white the first night they are open and become pink the second night. They are up to 40 cm in diameter, and are pollinated by scarab beetles.

Source: Information taken from Wikipedia and Encyclopædia Britannica.
Photos: John Lim