Water Lily flowers are wonderfully showy and fragrant, lasting only a few days. Some open during the day and close at night, others the opposite. Most are pollinated by beetles, moths or bees. After pollination, the stem curls up, pulling the flowers under the water where they die off and the seed develops. When ripe, up to 2,000 seeds are released from each fruit. Young seeds float as they contain air pockets. They are then dispersed by water currents or by water birds that eat them. As they become waterlogged, they sink into the mud to germinate. The plant also spreads by sprouting from the creeping rhizomes.
The Water Lily's leaves shade the water keeping it cool and thus allowing for more dissolved oxygen. The plant also provides hiding places for small aquatic creatures, which in turn attract predators. But in places where it has been introduced, the Water Lily can become a weed and blocking out sunlight and oxygen from the water and displacing local aquatic plants.
American Indians used the plant to treat many ailments. Mashed green roots were used as poultice for swollen limbs; the roots for problems of the womb, digestive problems, a rinse for mouth sores; leaves and flowers as cooling compresses. Many places people eat water lily or Shapla as vegetable. Water lily or Shapla is a delicious item of food for Bangladeshis. Rural people consume it as curry. Children are also fond of eating the stem and the fruit even green.
