Red Indian Water Lily (Nymphaea rubra)

Nymphaea rubra Roxb. 1808, commonly called Red Indian Water Lily, is a tropical, aquatic plant and widely distributed in Asia, especially in South- and South-East Asia.

It was quite a big task for us to shoot the stunning photographies of the Red Indian Water Lily, as we didn`t know, that the beautiful, red flowers open at nighttime and close in the morning. Whilst we`ve been out in early morning hours to do some transactions, we passed a pond and all the red flowers been widely open. Unfortunatly we didn`t have a camera with us, but at least the plant itself gave us the conclusive hint. The red Indian water lily is often named as Nymphaea pubescens (Hairy water lily) and some sources claim, that Nymphaea rubra is just a synonym. We can`t confirm this, as Nymphaea rubra is an accepted botanical name. The atractive brown-red leaves float on the water surface and can reach a size up to 50 cm across. The impressive red flowers get a size of about 15 cm, while fully open. The Red Indian Water Lily requires a warm to hot tropical climate and full sun. The aquatic plant does not tolerate temperatures below 15°C.

Flower Photography © Orchids Flowers.com
Image: Red Indian Water Lily (Nymphaea rubra)

Flower Photography © Orchids Flowers.com
Image: Red Indian Water Lily (Nymphaea rubra)