Nuphar lutea

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Nuphar lutea

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Kemper Code: A651

Common Name: yellow pond lily
Zone: 4 to 10
Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Nymphaeaceae
Missouri Native: Yes
Native Range: Eurasia, northern Africa, eastern United States, West Indies
Height: 0.5 to 2 feet
Spread: 3 to 6 feet
Bloom Time: May - October
Bloom Color: Greenish-yellow
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Wet
Maintenance: Low

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Plant Culture and Characteristics

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Uses:		Wildlife:	Flowers:	Leaves:	Fruit:
Hedge	Suitable as annual	Attracts birds	Has showy flowers	Leaves colorful	Has showy fruit
Shade tree	Culinary herb	Attracts	Has fragrant flowers	Leaves fragrant	Fruit edible
Street tree	Vegetable	hummingbirds	Flowers not showy	Good fall color	Other:
Flowering tree	Water garden plant	Attracts	Good cut flower	Evergreen	Winter interest
Gr. cover (<1')	Will naturalize	butterflies	Good dried flower		Thorns or spines

General Culture:

Best grown in 1-3’ of water in full sun to part shade. Grow in containers for water gardens. For natural ponds, plant rhizomes directly in the muddy bottom if naturalization is desired or in containers submerged therein. Thrives in poor, sandy soils. Colonizes by self-seeding and by spreading rhizomes. Can be difficult to eradicate when not grown in containers because any section of rhizome left behind may sprout new growth.

Noteworthy Characteristics:

Yellow pond lily (also spatterdock) is a water lily-like hardy perennial that is native to Missouri where it is commonly found in ponds, stream borders and sloughs south of the Missouri River. It is used in water gardens less that Nymphea (water lily) primarily because its flowers (2” diameter) are much smaller and much less ornamental. However, it has the advantage over Nymphea of being able to tolerate more shade and deeper water. It is more often used in large water gardens and ponds where it can develop underwater stems to as much as 6’ long and slowly spread to form sizeable colonies. Leaves and flowers emerge on separate stalks from thick underground rhizomes. Flat, leathery, oval/heart-shaped, lilypad-like leaves (to 16” long) either stand erect above the water or float on the water surface. Submerged ruffled cabbage-like leaves are smaller. Fragrant globular cup-shaped greenish-yellow flowers appear from May to October. Each flower partially opens in the morning and closes at night, lasting about 4-5 days. Spent flowers give way to seed heads that burst when ripe, thus broadcasting or spattering their seeds over the water surface in a manner supposedly reminiscent of dock (Rumex), hence the common name of spatterdock. Flowers and leaf stems die back to the rhizome in autumn. Native Americans consumed the starchy rootstocks as boiled or roasted vegetables and harvested the seed for grinding into flour. Flowers have a brandy-like aroma and the seedpods look like small flasks, hence the occasionally used common name of brandy-bottle.

Problems:

No serious insect or disease problems.

Uses:

Large water gardens. Ponds.