Nymphaea violacea Lehm.

A herb which grows in water. It keeps growing from year to year. It floats on the water with the rhizome rooted in the mud. The leaves are large and smooth. The are round with a deep split or lobe at the base. The blade is 10-30 cm long by 10-25 cm wide. It floats on the water surface. The leaf is dark green and has easy to see veins underneath. The edges of the leaf are sometimes slightly wavy. There is a long thick fleshy stalk. The flowers are large and white or blue or pink. They are many yellow stamens in the centre. The flowers are 5-15 cm across. They occur on long stalks either at water level or up to 15 cm above the water. The fruit are spongy berries. These have many seeds. They are green and about 2-3 cm across. They are carried under the water and break up when ripe.

Growing in water to 2 m deep in billabongs, creeks and rivers.

The rootstock, stalk and seed head are eaten raw or cooked. The seeds can also be made into flour.

Plants can be grown from seed or by dividing the rhizome.