In the Conservatory is a humid room, glass enclosed like a large greenhouse. Its aquatic plants are worth a visit on their own. The large, elegant blue flowers of the African water lily, shown here,are held well above the water at the tip of a sturdy green stalk and appear almost constantly from spring until the end of summer (September to February). They are bisexual, star-like and regular (actinomorphic), with 4 sepals, green on the outside and white to blue on the inside, and many blue petals. In the centre of the flower are numerous blue-tipped bright golden yellow stamens. There are color forms other than blue that occasionally occur, e.g. white, mauve and pink, but blue is the most common. The flowers open in early to mid-morning and close completely in late afternoon and stay closed all night.  A fully open flower measures 15-20 cm across and each flower lasts for about four days. The flowers are sweetly fragrant and in the wild are visited constantly by bees who are the most likely pollinator.