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Yellow water-lily

‘Water pig’

Yellow water-lily © Teemu Saloriutta
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The yellow water-lily (Nuphar lutea) grows in all kinds of water bodies. In Helsinki, it can be found particularly in rivers. Due to its curiously shaped fruit, the yellow water-lily used to be called ‘vesipossu’ (‘water pig’) in Finnish. It is poisonous, but in the past its rootstocks were used as emergency food during hard times. It also used to serve as a medicinal plant.