White Water Lily (Nymphaea Ampla) – Cut Flowers from Thailand

A Tropical White Water Lily

Our White Water Lily flowers are dried and finely cut, sourced from Thailand. Known botanically as Nymphaea ampla, this tropical species is associated with the ritual and visionary traditions of the ancient Maya.

Botanical Character

Nymphaea ampla is native to tropical and subtropical America. In the living plant, fragrant white flowers open during the day and close at night, rising above broad floating leaves with irregularly toothed edges.

It is a separate species from our Nymphaea alba whole flowers, which also bear the common name White Water Lily.

Ceremonial Heritage

In Maya religious imagery, the water lily appears alongside serpents and supernatural figures. Its winding stalk has been interpreted as a serpent’s body, and its broad petals as feathers, linking the flower with the feathered serpent and the spirit realm.

Ritual Use and Reported Effects

Ethnobotanical writing associates Nymphaea ampla with altered perception and ceremonial ecstasy. William Emboden proposed that its flowers played a psychoactive role in ancient Maya priestly rites—a reputation that gives this water lily a distinctive place among ritual botanicals.

These descriptions come from interpretations of historical imagery and texts. They do not establish a predictable effect for the dried flowers offered today.

Keep the flowers tightly sealed in a cool, dry place, away from moisture and direct sunlight.

Explore our Dream Herbs collection for related botanicals and their individual traditions.

Selected references

• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Nymphaea ampla, botanical description and native range.
• McDonald & Stross — Water Lily and Cosmic Serpent: Equivalent Conduits of the Maya Spirit Realm.
• Emboden (1981) — Transcultural use of narcotic water lilies in ancient Egyptian and Maya drug ritual.