Nuphar lutea (Brandy bottle)

Nuphar lutea (Brandy bottle) is our native Nuphar, a lily of deep ponds and slow moving rivers. Nuphars are completely different to the true water lilies of the genus Nymphaea. This species can grow in deep water, where the greyish leathery shovel shaped surface leaves are rarely produced, but there are then many cabbagey underwater ones. In order to get the yellow spherical flowers, plant in shallower locations. It can be hard to establish in garden ponds, but paradoxically it can be invasive once it gets going in earth bottomed ponds.