N. spontanea Landon is an  anomaly of the Lotos subgenus arising from Asiatic and African decent. It is a nymphaea that spontaneously appears in the wild fruiting and producing progeny primarily identical to the parent but not excluding some variants. It is a strong grower and self-sustaining through seed often jeopardizing other true species of the subgenus. It has red purple petals, red stamen and maroon to olive green pads.