Water Hawthorn

This beautiful plant, which is apparently a native of South Africa, has flowered continuously all winter, it was always going to be an emergency blip but I felt it worthy of being my first choice of many blips today!
Water Hawthorn (Aponogeton distachym ) was cultivated for it's edible buds and flowers, this I was unaware of and I have an interest in unusual edibles! I love it's sweetly scented creamy white flowers, with those beautifully contrasting purple-brown stamens. It's an aquatic plant, growing from a tuberose rhizome, the erect flowers open in a 'Y' shape and sit on the surface of the water. I had some waders on ( bargain from Lidel and not very flattering!) as I had been removing some rushes from the pond edge, so a good opportunity for a closeup!