The Nymphaeaceae (water lilies) belong to the Order Nymphaeales. They are tuberous plants that are rooted in soil in bodies of water, with leaves and flowers floating on the water surface. Some species of the water lotus are used as food. Families Cabombaceae - fanworts Nymphaeaceae - water lilies The Nymphaeales are an order of flowering plants, including two families of aquatic herbs: Family Nymphaeaceae (waterlily family) Family Cabombaceae (fanwort family) Sometimes the Cabombaceae are included within the Nymphaeaceae. ... For the heavy metal band see Soil (band) Soil is the layer of minerals and organic matter, in thickness from centimetres to a metre or more, on the land surface. ... In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ... Wildflowers A flower is the reproductive organ of those plants classified as angiosperms (flowering plants; Division Magnoliophyta). ...

Modern phylogenetic thinking about the flowering plants regards the water lilies as the most basal ("primitive") of the flowering plants. Greek clados = branch) or phylogenetic systematics is a branch of biology that determines the evolutionary relationships of living things based on derived similarities. ... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ...

Many botanists place the genus Nelumbo in its own family, the Nelumbonaceae. Species Nelumbo lutea Willd. ...

White water lily is the national flower of Bangladesh

Lotus

See lotus for other meanings.

A lotus can be a water lily in either the genus Nymphaea (the Egyptian lotuses) or Nelumbo (the Indian lotuses). Like most water lilies, both plants have round leaves that float on the surface of the water. Nymphaea leaves have a radial notch, while Nelumbo leaves are peltate, meaning they have no notch reaching into the petiole (leaf stem). Nelumbo fruit is often used in flower arrangements. It has about twenty pits in its upper surface, each of which contains a seed. Both plants have been used as religious symbols. This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Species N. alba - European white waterlily - blue Egyptian lotus - white Egyptian lotus more. ... Species Nelumbo lutea Willd. ... Religious symbolism is the term used to describe the use of symbols (archetypes, acts, artwork, events, or natural phenomenae) by a religion for various purposes. ...

Nelumbo nucifera is highly regarded in Hindu and Buddhist cultures and has been given the status of National Flower of India. This species is also edible in all its parts and is used in many Asian cuisines. Binomial name Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. ... This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation). ... Statues of Buddha such as this, the Tian Tan Buddha statue in Hong Kong, remind followers to practice right living. ... A national emblem is a symbol that represents a nation. ...

References

• Nymphaeaceae Salisb. (1805) - R. A. Salisbury, in the Annals of Botany (Editors C. König and J. Sims), 2:70. London, 1805.
• Nymphaeaceae  (http://delta-intkey.com/angio/www/nymphaea.htm) in: Watson, L., and M. J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The Families of Flowering Plants: (http://delta-intkey.com/angio) Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, Information Retrieval. http://delta-intkey.com

Nelumbo, the Indian lotus, has peltate leaves

Nymphaea colorata from Africa is a member of the Nymphaeaceae