Nymphaeaceae
Pygmy waterlily
Nymphaea tetragona
- Family
- Nymphaeaceae
- Genus
- Nymphaea
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Common names
By language (12)
- Burmese
- ကြာဖြူ
- Cantonese
- 睡蓮
- Chinese
- 睡莲, 睡蓮, 子午蓮, 矮睡莲
- English
- Pygmy waterlily, Pygmy water-lily, Pretty pygmy water-lily, 각시수련
- Finnish
- Suomenlumme
- German
- Zwerg-Seerose
- Japanese
- ヒツジグサ
- Korean
- 수련, 각시수련
- Mongolian
- Дөрвөлсөн бөлбөө
- Polish
- Grzybienie czterokątne
- Russian
- Кувшинка четырёхгранная
- Swedish
- Finsk näckros
Synonyms
- Castalia crassifolia Hand.-Mazz.
- Castalia pygmaea Salisb.
- Castalia rudgeana Tratt.
- Castalia tetragona (Georgi) G.Lawson
- Leuconymphaea tetragona (Georgi) Kuntze
- Nymphaea alba subsp. tetragona (Georgi) Korsh.
- Nymphaea crassifolia (Hand.-Mazz.) Nakai
- Nymphaea esquirolii H.Lév. & Vaniot
- Nymphaea fennica Mela
- Nymphaea japono-koreana Nakai
- Nymphaea pygmaea (Salisb.) W.T.Aiton
- Nymphaea pygmaea f. acutiloba Regel
- Nymphaea pygmaea f. distans Regel
- Nymphaea pygmaea f. grandiflora Regel
- Nymphaea pygmaea var. acutiloba (Regel) Regel
- Nymphaea pygmaea var. grandiflora (Regel) Regel
- Nymphaea pygmaea var. minima Nakai
- Nymphaea tetragona var. angusta Casp. ex Nakai
- Nymphaea tetragona var. crassifolia (Hand.-Mazz.) Y.C.Chu
- Nymphaea tetragona var. minima (Nakai) W.Lee
- Nymphaea tetragona var. wenzelii (Maack) Vorosch.
- Nymphaea wenzelii Maack ex Regel
Flowers
- In flower
- July to August (from 26 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)
Characteristics
- Growth habit
- Forb/herb
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- In the US and Canada
- Alaska: native, Canada: native, Lower 48 states: native
Photos

FlowerPhoto: Brian Finzel, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: naokitakebayashi, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Donald Hampton, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Георгий Виноградов (Georgy Vinogradov), CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: lallen, CC0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: petachita from Tachikawa-shi Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Dustin Snider, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist Photo: Ulf Eliasson, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Oleg Kosterin, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Alpsdake, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Rudolphous, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Oleg Kosterin, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
More in Nymphaea
- European white waterlilyNymphaea albaNymphaeaceae
- White Egyptian lotusNymphaea lotusNymphaeaceae
- Blue water lilyNymphaea nouchaliNymphaeaceae
- Nymphaea candidaNymphaeaceae
- American white waterlilyNymphaea odorataNymphaeaceae
- Hairy water lilyNymphaea pubescensNymphaeaceae
- Yellow waterlilyNymphaea mexicanaNymphaeaceae
- Pygmy Rwandan waterlilyNymphaea thermarumNymphaeaceae
- Dotleaf waterlilyNymphaea amplaNymphaeaceae
- Giant waterlilyNymphaea giganteaNymphaeaceae
- Blue Egyptian lotusNymphaea micranthaNymphaeaceae
- Amazon waterlilyNymphaea amazonumNymphaeaceae
Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.