The Lake |
| The conservatory lake is home to waterlilies and other aquatic plants and animals. Waterlilies comprise 8 genera
of aquatic plants in the Nymphaeaceae (waterlily) family. Roots of waterlilies grow in the soil
under the water. Their leaves and flowers float on the water.
The flowers of waterlilies are usually pollinated by beetles or
bees. There are two types of waterlilies: hardy and tropical.
Blue flowers are unique to the tropical waterlilies. |
The centerpiece of the lake: Giant Amazon Waterlily
 The leaves of these gaint Amazon natives can grow up to 8 feet and support more than 300 lbs. of weight! |
 The stems and maroon bottoms of the leaves are covered with long spines. |
 |
 They produce huge night-blooming flowers with strong fragrance. They are pollinated by scarab beetles and sphinx moths. |
| Other aquatic plants |
 A beautiful blossom of a tropical waterlily. |
 An underwater view of the long petioles of a waterlily plant. |
 Water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes, Araceae) These freefloating aquatic plants are perennial monocots. Insert shows the submerged fibrous roots. |
Back to Tropical Forest mainpage |
Back to Conservatory |