Nymphaea lotus var. thermalis

The Nymphaea lotus var thermalis or thermal spa water lily is a variety of the type of Tiger Lotus.

Occurrence

It is endemic and can be found worldwide, only a tiny biotope near Oradea in Romania. It is believed that it is a remnant of a sub-tropical vegetation still from the Tertiary. A steady underground hot spring fed the brook PETA and the lake with warm water. This circumstance, it is thanks to them that the species has survived the ice ages of the Quaternary. The closest related species is the Nymphaea lotus aegyptia and thrives on the Nile in Egypt.

Appearance

The round leaves are serrated and have a strong innervation. The flowers are large, white and exhibit a behavior that is characteristic of tropical aquatic plants: during the warm time of the day they join, and in the cool of the night they open. The life of a flower is 6 to 7 days, the fruits contain about 40,000 seeds. In rainy or cool weather, the flowers remain constantly open. In winter vegetate only the underwater leaves.

The thermal water lily can be easily accessed from the native to Europe White water lily ( Nymphaea alba) differ: This has not toothed leaves and their flowers close during the day, while they open at night.