The summer season brings many of us to the lakes within the region either to recreate, relax or just to cool off from the heat. Most of these lakes are surrounded by trees with cabins, homes, massive estates and resorts. Some are open to the public and some have more private access.
On the lakes that we do have access for swimming and boating, we witness many different types of aquatic plant life that grow above the surface of the water. Common ones we are familiar with are bulrushes, cattailsand water lilies. Of these three, water lilies are the prettiest with their beautiful exotic flowers that look like a water orchid.
Water lilies grow naturally in waterways throughout the world. There are cold hardy varieties and tropical ones. The cold hardy selections develop beautiful blooms of white, yellow and pink.
The tropical types have more electric colors that tend to radiate in the dark and also come in shades of blue and purple. These herbaceous plants grow from roots called rhizomes similar to that of iris roots. They grow from the sides and anchor into the soil of the water bodies.
In the spring when the waters begin to warm, the leaves begin to grow and reach for the surface of the water. As the leaves rise that have a lance-shape appearance, once they hit the surface, they uncurl to their typical round shape. Some are perfectly round and others have a notch in them.
Some of these leaves can be around 6 inches across to as big as 3 to 4 feet with some of the tropical varie.