A water lily is a flowering plant that grows in ponds, lakes, and slow-moving streams, with large flat leaves and beautiful flowers that float on the water's surface. If you've ever seen a pond with round green pads floating on top and gorgeous white, pink, or yellow flowers rising just above the water, you were looking at water lilies.

The plant itself grows from the muddy bottom of the pond, sending up long stems that can stretch several feet through the water. The leaves, called lily pads, are waxy and waterproof, often as wide as a dinner plate. The flowers open during the day and close at night, and some species are so fragrant you can smell them from the shore.

Water lilies appear in art and stories around the world. The French painter Claude Monet created hundreds of paintings of the water lilies in his garden. In ancient Egypt, the blue water lily was considered sacred. Different species grow on every continent except Antarctica.

Frogs love to rest on lily pads, and fish find shelter in their underwater stems. The giant water lily of the Amazon has pads so large and strong that a small child can sit on one without sinking.