Andre Leu Photo

The key below is for all native Australian species in the subgenus Anecphya. This does not include Nymphaea nouchali, the small blue species from north coastal Queensland and N. pubescens, the white night bloomer from northern Australia.

Hellquist C. B., Jacobs S.W.L. and Porter C.L.

1. Petals continuous with stamens; leaf margins entire, sinuate, or dentate; seeds 0.25-1 mm long X 0.25-1 mm wide; flowers fragrant.
	2. Filaments to 25 mm long, sepals to 11.5 cm long; flowers blue, mauve, white, rarely pink. Northern tropics of Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, and New Guinea ........ N. violacea						Barre Hellquist Photo
	2. Filaments to 18 mm long, sepals to 7 cm long; flowers white.
		3. Anthers to 8.5 mm long, fruit to 2.5 cm diam.; seeds 1.75-2.5 mm long X 1-1.5 mm wide; sepals usually with purple flecks. Mostly permanent water on the northern tip of the Cape York Peninsula and New Guinea .................. N. elleniae					Barre Hellquist Photo
		3. Anthers to 5.5 mm long; fruit to 4.5 cm diam.; seeds 1 mm in diam.; sepals lacking purple flecks. Ephemeral waters of northern Northern Territory and northern Western Australia ............ N. hastifolia					Dave Wilson Photo
1. Petals separated from stamens by a noticeable space; leaf margins toothed, rarely sinuate; seeds 4 mm long X 2.5-4 mm wide; flowers lacking odor or very faint odor.
	4. Anthers to 5 mm long; sepal length to 6.5 cm; petals to 22, acute tipped. Northern, Northern Territory, northern Queensland, and New Guinea ........... N. macrosperma						Barre Hellquist Photo
	4. Anthers to 15 mm long; sepal length to 12 cm; petals to 34, obtuse tipped.
		5. Leaf tooth length to 5 mm; sepals to 12 cm; filaments to 32 mm long.
			6. Anthers to 11 mm long; carpels 12-18; flower color blue, white, rarely pink, color fading with age; upper leaf surface of dried plants smooth, lacking punctae or small depressions. Tropical and subtropical regions from vicinty of Ingham, Qld. west to east central Northern Territory and south to northeast New South Wales ... N. gigantea				Andre Leu Photo
			6. Anthers to 15 mm long; carpels 9-20 flower color mainly white with outer petals blue, occasionally all white or blue, rarely changing to pink, often not fading with age; upper leaf surface of dried plants with obvious punctae or small depressions on most plants.
				7. Stamens to 400; sepals to 10.5 cm long; petals white with outer rows blue or all blue not fading with age; seeds pubescent; leaf tooth length to 4.5 mm long. Tropical northern Queensland mainly Cape York Peninsula west to Northern Territory (uncommon), and northern Western Australia ............. N. immutabilis subsp. immutabilis			Andre Leu Photo
				7. Stamens to 200; sepals to 12.5 cm long; petals blue, white at base, fading slightly with age; seeds glabrous; leaf tooth length to 3 mm long. Local in the Kimberley region of Western Australia ................... N. immutabilis subsp. kimberleyensis
		5. Leaf tooth length to 2 mm; sepals to 8 cm long; filaments to 14 mm long. Flowers white with blue outer petals aging to pink and eventually red when in fruit. Plants confined to central Cape York Peninsula ................................ N. atrans					Barre Hellquist Photo