Nymphaea odorata

Nymphaea odorata is a water lily occurring in lakes, ponds, streams, marshes, sloughs, and disturbed sites worldwide, as a native and introduced taxon in North America, the West Indies, Mexico, Central America, and South America. In North America, the native range of this taxon is from Newfoundland and Labrador west to Manitoba, south to Florida and Texas in the United States, and northern Mexico. There are over 300 estimated occurrences of Nymphaea odorata, which are threatened by development, logging, wild rice harvesting, changes to hydrology, herbivory, invasive species, and collection from the wild for ornamental purposes. However, this species is proficient at establishing itself as an introduced species in many parts of its range. Little is known about trends, but with a large range extent, high number of occurrences, abundant habitat, broad habitat preferences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities, Nymphaea odorata is considered secure.

Nymphaea odorata is globally widespread as a native and introduced taxon, occurring in North America, the West Indies (Bahamas, Cuba), Mexico, Central America (Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua), and South America (introduced to Guyana) (FNA 1997, POWO 2025). In North America, the native range of this taxon is from Newfoundland and Labrador west to Manitoba, south to Florida and Texas in the United States and northern Mexico (Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2025). It is considered introduced in British Columbia, Alaska, and scattered states in the western United States (Alaska Natural Heritage Program 2005, FNA 1997, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2025). The native range extant was estimated to be over 12 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1994 and 2025 (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025). See individual entries for distribution details about the two subspecies.

By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records and photo-based observations documented between 1994 and 2025, there are estimated to be over 2,000 occurrences of this taxon in its native range (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025).

Threats to this species and its habitat include siltation of backwater lakes (W. McClain, pers. comm., 2000), cottage development, shoreline development, logging, wild rice harvesting, changes to hydrology (e.g., for hydroelectric development), wetland drainage, increasing numbers of beavers which eat the rhizomes (E. Punter, pers. comm., 2000), herbicide, and pollution from runnoff (NatureServe 2025). In addition, the popularity of water lilies for landscaping gardens make it likely that Nymphaea odorata is collected by individuals from the wild for this purpose (D. Cameron, R. Popp, and T. Smith, pers. comm., 2000). However, most water lilies sold in nurseries are from cultivar rather than wild stock (G. Douglas and E. Punter, pers. comm., 2000). Threats are considered negligible given the broad range and large number of occurrences of the species and its somewhat flexible and abundant habitat, as well as no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities.