The genome of the water lily is presented in this week's Nature, providing a look into the early evolution of angiosperms. A team led by scientists from Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University report the 409-megabase genome sequence of the blue-petal water lily — Nymphaea colorata — and provide evidence of a whole-genome duplication event shared by members of the water lily family and, possibly, related aquatic plants of the Cabombaceae family.