bannana looking rhizome

[HOWELL]

well a friend of mine from mexico city got this plants, she said they told her it is a floating plant, but it looks like a lily so, please would you help me to know what it is, it has a bannana looking rhizome
here is a pic, so you will know better what it is.

[Mikey]

Looks like a lily to me.  I think those roots are just looking for soil

[Desertponder]

Looks like the Mexicana lily. It has a yellow flower. Its semi hardy. I've overwintered mine in my tanks and it barely survives my cold winter.
You can pot it up just like other lilies. Mine didn't do real well this year, only bloomed a couple of times.

[MikeW]

I am pretty sure Shanna is correct - it is N. Mexicana.
I have had it in my pond for a few years - it can grow like a weed though, so I would warn people to make sure it is contained.

A very pretty yellow colour.

Cheers,

Mike

[Jonna]

Yes, the n. mexicana that I had in the desert made little fists of roots like that.  I agree that is probably what it is.  It is a beautiful lily but Mike is right, if it likes the conditions it can grow like a weed.  Mine jumped the pot without me noticing and when i did notice, it had roots throughout the pond, all across the bottom and in every nook and cranny.  So, pot it well and keep an eye on it. It blooms a lot and I love the clear yellow of the blooms.

[HOWELL]

thanks to all of you
my friend said they were selling it as a floating plant and she got it for the price of 8 pesos, which i think in dollars will be maybe like 80 cents, i am not sure, but since it is n. mexicana i am pretty sure it is, she said she got it from some native mexicans that live close to xochimilco
she is sending me some yay
well i am telling her to pot it well as much as i will do it , i hope it spreads a lot haha

[sushi]

Those look like those banana plants you put in the aquarium to me. 
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=768+791&pcatid=791

[HOWELL]

it does look like that sushi just one thing i noticed is that the bananas in your picture are fatter and the one i posted are longer, we will see, hope it is N. Mexicana though

[Sean]

The banana plants in the aquarium trade are N. mexicana.

It is a plant that Dr. Kirk Strawn used extensively in his hybrids and it is a parent to many of the hardy waterlilies we covet today like N. Colorado and N. Barbara Dobbins as well as others that escape me at this moment.

It's range spans through the southern states from California to Florida down through much of Mexico

It is extraordinarily weedy and will spread everywhere if you are not diligent. I recommend it's own pond if you do not want the work of pulling it a year later.

Cheers,
Sean

[PondmaninAL]

Well, Sean beat me to it. I had some plants like water snowflakes that had roots like that as well. They were viviparous.

Happy ponding,
Scott [/b]

[HOWELL]

at first i thought they were water snowflakes too but then i seriously thought well let me ask here,
well i seriously hope it is a lily because it is so cheap, it was like 80 american cents, which is a good deal,
thanks sean
so N. Mexicana is viviparous, which means that will give a plant from a flower or something?
cooool
thanks all

[sushi]

This is interesting.  So if I planted an aquarium banana plant in the pond next summer, it would become a lily that blooms?

[HOWELL]

sushi i guess, i googled it and it says that banana lily for aquariums with the proper light it may bloom yellow, so i think we have found and anwear

[sushi]

Thats cool, they sell for around $3 around here, I may have to try it next summer.  I learn something new here every day   

[PondmaninAL]

Don't put them in to deep Sushi. Keep them in the shallow part. I just wish that I could find some around here.

Happy ponding,
Scott