here`s a few interesting facts about water lilies-

Water lilies were once used in ancient Egyptian art.

The largest water lily is the Giant Water Lily. It can be found in the Amazon. It can grow to be 2 feet to 6 feet in diameter. It provides food for fish and wildlife. The only problem is that it causes drainage problems because of its large size.

The swamp lily is a breed of water lily. It reproduces and grows just as the water lily does. The only difference is that it grows in swamps.

The Yellow Lily's roots are sometimes eaten. White Lily's roots are used to treat sore mouths. The smoke from some lilies burning roots has been used to repel insects.

Claude Monet painted many paintings of water lilies. He got the idea because he had a water garden and enjoyed the plants' beauty and difference.

The lotus is a plant that is similar to the water lily. The lotus has leaves that float above the surface and is held above the water on long stalks. The lotus is a plant group made up of mainly herbs and subshrubs.

Those Giant Water Lilies are BIG!!

The world's greatest lily

The Giant Amazon Water Lily was discovered growing in the River Amazon in 1801, and first grown in Europe in the mid 19th Century. Known as the “Giant Water-Platter,” the structure of its exceptionally strong leaves inspired Sir Joseph Paxton to construct an immense conservatory at Chatsworth House, in which the lily flowered for the first time in Britain.

The leaves of the Brazilian species, Victoria amazonica, reach six feet across and can support the weight of a well-balanced adult. The water lily growing at The Living Rainforest is a hybrid between this species and V. cruziana, a smaller species native to Argentina and Paraguay. The hybrid is named Victoria x ‘Longwood Hybrid’ after Longwood Gardens in the USA where the cross was first made in 1960. ‘Longwood Hybrid’ tends to produce larger leaves than either species; indeed, The Living Rainforest’s specimen grew the largest leaf on record in 2002, measured at 2.65m (8’ 6½”) across before it was attacked by an escaped colony of leafcutter ants.

In cultivation, the plant is grown from a pea-sized seed sown in early Spring. Planted out into the main pond in May, the plant uses the several hundred litres of cow manure provided for it to grow increasingly large leaves until the first flower is produced in August, when the leaves reach full-size. By November, the light levels at The Living Rainforest have dropped to a point where the plant can no longer support its huge leaves, and the dying plant is removed from the pond. In its native River Amazon, the plant would continue growing year-round, its growth rate determined by water levels rather than light or warmth.

The enormous, 12” flowers are intriguing. Similar in appearance and structure to typical water lily flowers, they open as pure white blooms in the evening. A chemical reaction heats the inside of the flower to as much as 12°C (20°F) above the ambient temperature, helping to disperse the bloom’s sweet-smelling perfume. This attracts scarab beetles which burrow into the flower between the petals, delivering pollen from a previous visit to another giant water lily bloom. As the flower closes the next morning, the beetles are trapped inside, getting dusted with pollen as they struggle to escape. At dusk, the flower opens for a second time. As the petals unfurl and allow the pollen-covered beetles to escape and find a virgin white flower, they reveal a deep purple hue, no longer attractive to scarabs.

Interesting to read that the largest can grow up to 6 foot in diameter