Prickly Water Lily

• Plant Type: Annual or short-lived perennial aquatic plant.
• Common Names: Foxnut, Gordon Plant, Makhana, Prickly Water Lily.
• Color: Bright purple
• Flower Dimensions: 1.97 inches in diameter.
• Flowering Season/Months: Spring (May).

Euryale ferox is a species of water lily found in Asia. The Prickly Water Lily is a perennial plant in the order of Nymhaeales.

• The Prickly Water Lily is typically found in medium to large water. The Prickly Water Lily can spread to a 15-foot flat pad on the water.
• The stems and leaves of the Euryale ferox plants have sharp spines. The leaves of the species are dark green with purple veins.
• The measurement of each leaf is 4 to 5 feet long.
• The flowers of the Prickly Water Lily are 1.97 inches in diameter. The flowers have stout, densely prickly peduncles. The sepals of the flower are triangular-ovate, and the petals are oblong-lanceolate. The outer petals are purple-violet, fading to white in the inner part.
• Euryales ferox requires a depth of 3 to 8 inches to bloom best.

Where can Prickly Water Lilies be mostly spotted?

Asia

• The white seeds^[1] are edible. It is cultivated in China and India. Euryale ferox^[2] is said to have been cultivated in China for 3000 years.
• The Prickly Water Lily seeds are used in traditional Chinese medicine. A study^[3] showed that extracts from Euryale feroxmanifest antioxidant activity.
• Scientists isolate and identify the compounds responsible for the antioxidant activity of E. ferox seeds. They stated that the seeds of E. ferox are promising for the prevention of diabetic nephropathy.
• The Ayurvedic and Unani medicine^[4] believed that the Prickly Water Lilies possess aphrodisiac properties.
• The fruit of E. ferox^[5] is rich in minerals and protein. The fruit also has a high amount of micronutrients.