Photo by Mark McGuiness
wikipedia.org Water lillies are great in any pond. Their leaves are refreshing to the eyes as their blooms are vibrant and incredibly fragrant. The lillies also provide for the pond that they grow in. They keep the algae from invading the pond and provide shade and respite to little creatures like fish and frogs that may live in the pond.
Water lillies also provide for us, many people eat the young leaves and buds and the roots. Lotus roots are available in most Chinese markets in North America . Fried Lotus roots is delicious.
In some cases water lillies are seen as weeds as they displace the local species of plants that would've thrived in their absence. In the Philippines water lillies were blamed for the flooding- they apparently clogged the country's second longest river;( In June 2011).
Did you know that the Water lillies have their roots fixed in the soil and only the leaves and the blooms float?
While there are many varieties of water lillies, and they have white, pink, yellow and even blue flowers, all water lillies are not created equal. While the leaves of most water lillies are waxy and flat, the diameter of the leaves of Victoria Cruziana is 6ft to 8ft wide.
I am in awe of this very fragile leaf that can support a weight of 70 pounds ( 31.81 kilograms).
No comments:
Post a Comment