Narrowleaf Pond-lily
Nuphar sagittifolia
Found in blackwater streams, rivers, and lakes, acid-water ponds, in swift, sluggish, or stagnant water, extending downriver into freshwater tidal areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Wet to standing water
Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- April to October
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves
Height: NC species account not read yet.
Spread and leaves: no source found yet.
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 3 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Streams, rivers and their banks
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 154 animals.
- Black SkimmerRynchops niger
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Black-and-White WarblerMniotilta varia
- Black-bellied PloverPluvialis squatarola
- Black-throated Green WarblerDendroica virens
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- BrantBranta bernicla
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- CanvasbackAythya valisineria
- Carolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensis
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Common LoonGavia immer
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
- Downy WoodpeckerPicoides pubescens
- Eastern PhoebeSayornis phoebe
- Eastern Wood-peweeContopus virens
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- Field SparrowSpizella pusilla
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
- Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
Who uses this plant?
9CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Nuphar
- Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
- Bellura gortynoidesWhite-Tailed Diver
- Bellura obliquaCattail Border Moth, Cattail Diver
- Elophila gyralisWaterlily Borer Moth
- Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
- Homophoberia cristataWaterlily Owlet, Water-Lily Owlet, Yellow Water-Lily Owlet
- Ostrinia penitalisAmerican Lotus Borer, Lily Moth
- Parapoynx maculalisPolymorphic Pondweed Moth
- Parapoynx obscuralisObscure Pondweed Moth
10BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Nuphar
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Nuphar
- Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Nymphaeaceae
- Flower color
- Yellow or green
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow or green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Water; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Narrowleaf Pond lily; Nuphar lutea ssp. sagittifolia; Nuphar luteum spp. sagittifolium
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5T2 [G2] |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Virginia DCR Natural Heritage rare plant list
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications