Nymphaea mexicana

Unwanted Organism, National Pest Plant Accord

• Mexican water lily

• Scientific Name: Nymphaea mexicana
• Origin: Native to Southern US and Mexico
• Type: Weed
• Plant Life-form Type: Floating-leaved
• Taxonomy: Zucc.
• Presence: Locally naturalised, first record from Lake Ohakuri, Waikato in 1982
• Habitat: Still and slow flowing water bodies
• Notes: Problem in still water bodies, much more so than N. alba and other ornamental water lilies, but poor dispersal capacity has limited spread.
• Propagation: Rhizomes, tubers, and seed, deliberate plantings
• Features: Stout erect rhizome with creeping stolons, often ending with distinctive ?brood-bodies? which look like miniature hands of bananas. Leaves are almost round to elliptical in shape, with a deep sinus. Leaves are up to 20 cm across, green or pink on the lower surface, and with brown blotches on the upper surface. Flower is yellow and up to 15 cm across. New Zealand plants are likely to be of hybrid origin, but have the characters of the parent species.
• Source: TIFBIS
• Regional: Regional Pest Management Strategy: AUK, WKO.