Reign of the waterlilies

The wet environment of the Okavango Delta encourages the growth of thousands of tree and plant species: the Day Water Lily is an aquatic plant with round, floating leaves split by a V-notch. These plants have underground stems which are firmly anchored to the mud under water by means of rather thick, spreading roots. The rhizome (underground stem) is 4 - 5 cm in diameter, black in colour and rather spongy. The leaves float on long, spongy stalks and are round with a deep notch or cut from the centre to the outer edge.