I want to know more about the difference between a lotus plant and a water lily, In some pictures it seems as if water lilies have less petals and more pollen thingys. Sorry about my lack of terminology and knowledge.
Lotus plants (Nelumbo, family Nelumbonaceae) have leaves held above the water level, whereas water-lilies (Nymphaea and Nuphar, family Nymphaeaceae) have leaves that float flat on the water. In the flowers, Nelumbo has a big central seed-bearing structure, Nymphaea and Nuphar only have small ones.
Thank you, I think the Nuphar variety is what I've been seeing on the net, "buttercup like". I like the floating lily and pad aspect of water-lilies but the pictures of lotus flowers were "prettier".
I don't know why but this summer I had 3 water lily flowers (hardy and from 2 different pots) standing about 10 cms above the water level. This was strange to me and the same pots gave up also normal floating flowers. I am not an expert but I see the difference (sorry my lack of the right terminology) comparing their seed pots. Water lily collects the seeds under the flower section, in a jelly like surrounding but I believe the lotus produce the seeds on the middle surface of the flower. Lotus, I don't have any.
