Nymphaea nouchali N. Burman

 
  • Family : NYMPHAEACEAE
    (Water-Lily Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : NEELKAMAL FAMILY (नीलकमल फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Nymphaeaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Nymphaea stellata Willd.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Nymphaea nouchali Burm.f.
  • Common name : Star Water Lily, Blue Water-lily, Indian waterlily
  • Vernacular name :
    • Neel padma, Neel kamal (Hindi)
    • Naidile, Neela thavare (Kannada)
    • Alli, Karunaithal, Neelothbalam (Tamil)
    • Neeti kaluva, Nalla kalava (Telugu)
    • Nilkain, Subdikain, Padma (Oria)
    • Kumudam (Sanskrit)
    • Uplia kamal (Marathi)
    • Ampala, Ambel, Neerambel, Periambel, Poothali, Bellampel (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Herb (Aquatic)
  • Habitat : Ponds
  • Comments / notes : Common im plains; abundant towards the coast
  • Flower, Fruit : Throughout the year
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Guntur district, Kurnool district, Prakasam district, Chittoor district
    • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
    • Odisha : All districts of Odisha
    • Tamil Nadu : All districts of Tamil Nadu
    • Delhi : Delhi
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Punjab : Punjab
  • Native : Tropical Africa, Asia, Australia
  • World Distribution : Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, Laos, Thailand, New Guinea, Philippines and Indonesia
  • Conservation Status : Least Concern (LC)
  • Literature :
    • Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1
    • J.L.Ellis, 1987- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 1
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
    • R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District
    • R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District
    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1.
    • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
    • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Nymphaea nouchali
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Nymphaea nouchali. Downloaded on 12 February 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Habitat

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

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