Water Lily History
Water lilies are one of the oldest aquatic plants on this earth. Early lilies were huge in size with fossils showing lily pads up to four feet wide. As these plants evolved over several thousands of years they morphed to the size we see today. Evidence of water lilies have been found in european pre-ice age cave drawings and these drawings show the early types to have been of the same basic form that exists among hardy species today.
Over the last hundred years, water lily history has become clearer. It began early in the last century with a white man's discovery of a large & fragrant flower in the fresh water lagoons of the South American jungles. The natives gave the water lily the name Yrupe meaning water platter. The large purplish-green leaves, floated on the surface of the water providing resting spots for the local frog population.
The flowers, up to 12" inches wide opened at dawn, remained open all day and closed again after sunset. They released a powerful and strong smelling fragrance somewhat like that of crushed apples. The flowers changed color almost daily as the amazed white man watched. The bud when it first spread itself was creamy white which gradually gave way to a light pink then to a dark pink. This must have been amazing to watch back then when simple things were not taken for granted.
Nowadays the water lily has become the pinnacle of all pond plants world wide. You simply cannot call a water garden a water garden, without having several water lilies present in your collection of pond plants. Water lilies will continue to evolve as technology continues to improve and growers continue to produce different hybrids. It would be neat to see where the evolution of the water lily will be in the next 100 years.
Over the last hundred years, water lily history has become clearer. It began early in the last century with a white man's discovery of a large & fragrant flower in the fresh water lagoons of the South American jungles. The natives gave the water lily the name Yrupe meaning water platter. The large purplish-green leaves, floated on the surface of the water providing resting spots for the local frog population.
The flowers, up to 12" inches wide opened at dawn, remained open all day and closed again after sunset. They released a powerful and strong smelling fragrance somewhat like that of crushed apples. The flowers changed color almost daily as the amazed white man watched. The bud when it first spread itself was creamy white which gradually gave way to a light pink then to a dark pink. This must have been amazing to watch back then when simple things were not taken for granted.
Nowadays the water lily has become the pinnacle of all pond plants world wide. You simply cannot call a water garden a water garden, without having several water lilies present in your collection of pond plants. Water lilies will continue to evolve as technology continues to improve and growers continue to produce different hybrids. It would be neat to see where the evolution of the water lily will be in the next 100 years.
