DATE: Wednesday, September 10, 1997         TAG: 9709100558

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
SOURCE: BY JEFFREY S. HAMPTON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: WATERLILY                         LENGTH:   60 lines

WATERLILY: A COMMUNITY IN BLOOM THE AQUATIC FLOWERS SEEM MORE PLENTIFUL THAN EVER, RESIDENTS SAY

Just as the sun peeks over the expansive marsh here, hundreds of waterlilies - maybe more than ever - open their petals to welcome the day.

There seems to be a bolder reminder of why the small Currituck County community got its name.

``We've been away all summer, but when we came back, there were more than I've ever seen before,'' said Minnie Bishop, who has lived in Waterlily, at least during the summers, since 1959.

``They are as plentiful as I've ever seen them,'' said S.E. Caroon, a Waterlily resident since 1964.

The large, white blossoms decorate the surface of the dark marsh waters like stars in an autumn night sky. They are most plentiful in the canals that follow Churches Island Road through two miles of marsh on both sides. Dull brown grass provides the perfect backdrop.

The perennials reproduce themselves by way of rhizomes that send runners along the bottom. Most common in this area is the nynthaea odoratha, said Kunso Kim, a curator of the plant collection at the Norfolk Botanical Garden. It is known as fragrant waterlily, pond lily or the white waterlily.

The hardy plant is a native of the eastern United States but has spread throughout the country.

Kim said the flowers open early in the morning, then close later in the day. They bloom from June into October. During the winter, even the wide, flat leaves, known as lily pads, tuck themselves out of sight, Kim said.

Waterlilies help clear the water and reduce algae. The broad leaves provide cover for aquatic wildlife, including the largemouth bass. Which may be one reason the Currituck Sound and its creeks and ponds are famous for bass fishing.

Generations of crossbreeding has produced at least 50 species worldwide of all colors. There is even an International Waterlily Society.

``They are very, very popular,'' Kim said.

Waterlilies are almost a must for the serious water gardener, said Debbie Sauls of Kenyon Bailey Supply in Elizabeth City.

``They put off a lot of blossoms,'' Sauls said. ``Some are scented and some are not, it depends on the species.''

Waterlilies spread rapidly on the water because of the fast-growing rhizomes, Sauls said, and they thrive in calm waters.

Their proliferation along the canals is a little surprising because of the heavy boat traffic, Caroon said. He offered a guess why.

``The banks are washing away,'' Caroon said, and the shallow water may be a better environment. ``Those ditches are not as deep as they used to be.''

Paul O'Neal, a 30-year-resident of Waterlily, held to another theory.

``There are more waterlilies than I've seen in years,'' O'Neal said. ``I think the water may be fresher in the creeks and ditches than it has been in some time. I've seen a lot more wildlife as well. It's more like it was when I was a kid.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

DREW C. WILSON/The Virginian-Pilot

Waterlilies, their fragrant white flowers borne above broad green

pads that float on the water's surface, help clear the water and

reduce algae.

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