GET OUT THE CANOE

YELLOW WATER LILY:MORE PROPERLY, SPATTERDOCK...

...IN A QUIET BACKWATER OF THE SIOUX RIVER

Sunday, 8:30 AM.  67 degrees F, wind SSW, calm with occasional light gusts.  The sky is partly cloudy with some haze.  The humidity is 85% the barometer 29.86", all virtually a repeat of yesterday.  It is a quiet, pleasant summer Sunday morning.

   Today is the 45th anniversary of Buzz Aldrich and Neil Armstrong landing on the moon.  I remember watching them on our little black and white TV back in Milwaukee while playing with our first child.  Today folks are more excited about LeBron James returning to Cleveland than astronauts returning to the moon and going on to Mars.  We once were leaders and accomplished great things.  Now we are bystanders, "leading from behind" while the world goes to hell.  It's time for a change!

   Yesterday we discussed the white water lily, Nyphaea oderata.  The native yellow water lily, Nelumbo lutea, is not actually a water lily but is more properly called spatterdock, or water chinquapin, or sometimes pond-nut (because of its edible seeds).  As can be seen from the photos, its flowers do not lay on the surface of the water as do the flowers of N. oderata.  Also, the petals do not spread out, and are not long-pointed.  There are a number of species of Nelumbo, and to be totally honest, I am totally confused as to which  grows where in Wisconsin. 

    In fact, I find all three of the species in the water lily family, the Nymphaceae (Nymphaea, Nelumbo and Nuphar) confusing, and the literature as well.  I shall feel free to change my mind on what's what as I hopefully learn more about them all.  One of the problems with water lilies, of course, is that you pretty much have to be in a canoe to get a good look at them.