Nymphaea lotus

Nymphaea lotus, the white Egyptian lotus, tiger lotus, white lotus or Egyptian white water-lily, is a flowering plant of the family Nymphaeaceae. It grows in various parts of East Africa and Southeast Asia. The Nymphaea lotus var. thermalis is a tertiary relict variety, endemic to the thermal waters of Europe, for example the Peţa River in Romania or the Hévíz lake in Hungary . It was introduced into western cultivation in 1802 by Loddiges Nursery. Eduard Ortgies crossed Nymphaea lotus (N. dentata) with Nymphaea pubescens (N. rubra) to produce the first Nymphaea hybrid, illustrated in Flore des serres 8 t. 775, 776 under the name Nymphaea ortgiesiano-rubra. It is a popular ornamental aquatic plant in Venezuela.