Yellow Pond-lily
Nuphar advena
Also known as: Spatterdock
A tough, adaptable native of slow water and muddy margins, with leathery heart-shaped pads — often held just above the surface — and small globe-like yellow flowers that barely open. Thick rhizomes feed beaver and muskrat; tolerates deeper, murkier water than the showier white waterlily. Flower buds, leaves, roots, and seeds have all served as food once cooked — the root needs boiling to remove a bitter taste, and the seed can be roasted like popcorn.
- Family
- Nymphaeaceae
- Type
- wildflower
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 0.2–1 ft
- Spacing
- 2–5 ft apart
- Light
- sun, part shade
- Soil moisture
- wet
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral
- Bloom
- May, June, July, August, September
- Bloom colors
- yellow
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, mammals
- Landscape uses
- rain garden, naturalizing
- Native states
- AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV