| The Yellow Water Lily is an aquatic perennial that grows from scaly-looking rhizomes that can grow up to 5 metres long; thick stems support the floating leaves and flowers The leaves floating (or partially submerged) - look like arrowheads or hearts; 10-45cm, can be up to 2 metres in length, has the largest leaves of any water lily species. Yellow Water Lily flowers are solitary and spherical, deep yellow flowers are small in comparison and always slightly above water on thick stalks. Each flower has five or six large, overlapping, concave sepals, and several smaller yellow petals, obscured by the red-brown stamens - flower centre is a large 'knob-like' stigma. Yellow Water Lilies grow in low to mid elevations, found in shallow lakes and ponds or slow streams. Dried sliced or powered rhizomes from the Yellow Water Lily had many traditional medicinal uses; a poultice of sliced rhizomes was often applied to skin ulcers, broken bones or aching joints; the powder or slices were eaten sprinkled on food - a tea from the rhizomes was drunk - for tuberculosis, heart disease, swellings, asthma, chest pains and gonorrhea; the tea was also used as a blood tonic, general tonic or appetite stimulant - the leaves were heated and used as a poultice for chest pains - the Yellow Water Lily plant was mixed into a concoction for applying to cuts, bites and infections - seeds of Yellow Water Lilies are edible |
