The Nymphaeaceae, or water-lily family, has about 50 species. The other families in the.... flower water

In the genus Ceratophyllum, the plants are either rooted or free-floating but submerged; in the other genera, they are attached to pond or stream bottoms, but their leaves and flowers may be either submerged, floating, or standing above the water. They range in size from the small, fragile fanwort ( Cabomba ), which has floating leaves less than 0.3 cm (1 inch) in diameter, to the hornwort ( Ceratophyllum ), with richly branched stems reaching 3.54.5 m (1215 feet) in length, to Victoria, which has floating circular, shieldlike leaves 2 m (6.5 feet) across and flowers 40 cm (about 15 inches) in diameter. Many species of water lilies are suited for pools, aquatic gardens, and aquariums, where they are prized for their attractive foliage and showy flowers. The blades of variously shaped leaves that emerge from the submerged rhizomes may spread over the surface of the water or stand above the water by means of elongate petioles. Most of the 35 species and many hybrids of Nymphae! a of the Nymphaeaceae are cultivated; their flowers are the most showy of the Nymphaeales. The , consisting of the genus Ceratophyllum, differs from other families in the Nymphaeales in that the plants' ferny leaves are borne at intervals on the submerged stem. Flowers of Ceratophyllum not only lack sepals and petals, but stamens (male) and the pistil (female) are borne in separate flowers and on separate plantsa feature that is unique in this order. Pollen, liberated by higher-placed male flowers, settles in water to reach a channel in the female flower, facilitating pollen germination. Except for Ceratophyllum (in which flowers are water-pollinated) and Euryale of the Nymphaeaceae (which is self-pollinated in closed flowers), flowers rise to the surface of the water or higher and are insect-pollinated. Leathery, several-chambered berries, which eventually shed their seeds, are produced by the Nymphaeaceae and the Barclayaceae; they mature under water. flower water