Not What You Think!

I know that some of you think (know?) I have some fixations ... so I'm teasing you with this explicit picture. 

It looks pretty disgusting, but in fact is not - it is the rhizome of the yellow pond lily, or spatterdock (Nuphar variegata). A rhizome is just an underground stem in a horizontal orientation, and it can survive some exposure to air; the plant regenerates both from this structure and from seeds. There are no leaves that overwinter.

The plant produces gorgeous yellow blooms with large floating leaves - a real beauty and the beast!