Recent rains have eliminated summer dryness in Down East Maine, at least for now. The marsh ponds are full and one of our loveliest native plants, the Fragrant Waterlily, is in abundance.
The sweet-smelling flowers of the plant (Nymphaea odorata) are at their best when they open in the early morning, especially when bejeweled by a heavy dew or light rain:
The Lily Pads are the plant’s flat, round, floating leaves. They’re also the plant’s “lungs”: Water Lilies "breathe" through specialized pores in the tops of their pads called stomata. These tiny openings exchange carbon dioxide and water vapor between the leaf and the air, a benefit in addition to beauty.
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on August 9 and 11, 2023.)