Nymphaea

White water lily (Nymphaea alba)

The water lilies (Nymphaea ) are a genus of flowering plants in the family Nymphaeaceae ( Nymphaeaceae ). The globally widespread genus includes about fifty species.

Description and ecology

Lily species are rarely annual, usually herbaceous plants. These water plants form of elongated or bulbous rhizomes, with which they are anchored in the mud of rivers, ponds, lakes and other water bodies.

For most water-lily species is present Heterophyllie. There are trained by alternate and spirally arranged leaves leaves two types: floating leaves and underwater leaves. The simple leaves are long-petiolate. The leaf blade is often peltate ( Peltatum ), heart-shaped or arrow-shaped. The leaf margin is smooth or serrated. Stipules are present or absent.

The solitary, hermaphroditic flowers are built up spirally and often fragrant. The range of flower colors ranging from white through yellow and red to blue; Varieties can also orange, green, violet or purple bloom. The most four ( rarely three or five) free sepals are usually greenish. There are six to 50 free petals present. The 20 to 750 free stamens all fertile or show as staminodes morphological transitions to the petals. The five to 35 carpels are fused to an above- permanent or partly inferior ovary partly or completely. The stylus end in the number of carpels appropriate, broad and concave scars. Pollination is by insects ( entomophily ). There are night and tagblühende species.

The fleshy, spongy, berry-like fruits are topped by tough scar. After fertilization, the ripening fruits are usually pulled under water and mature under water. The ripe seeds are up to 5 mm in size. They form flotation bags, with which the seeds initially float to the water surface, where the wind and current they spread two to three days. After that, the flotation bag dissolves, the seeds fall down and start to germination.

Systematics and distribution

The genus Nymphaea was erected in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum, 1, pp. 510-511. Type species is Nymphaea alba L. Synonyms for Nymphaea L. are: . Castalia Salisb, Leuconymphaea Ludw. . ex Kuntze.

At the world -spread genus Nymphaea includes over 50 species, it is divided into two groups with a total of five subgenera.

• Subgenus Anecphya Conard: it contains about eleven species in Australasia:

• Nymphaea alexii SWLJacobs & Hellq. It is endemic to a small area in Queensland.
• Nymphaea ATRANS SWLJacobs: It occurs only in the northern Queensland.
• Nymphaea carpentariae SWLJacobs & Hellq. It occurs only in the northern and central Queensland.
• Nymphaea elleniae SWLJacobs: It occurs in western Papua New Guinea and northern Queensland.
• Nymphaea georginae SWLJacobs & Hellq. It occurs in the Northern Territory and Queensland.
• Large water lily ( Nymphaea gigantea Hook, Syn. Castalia gigantea ( Hook. ) Britten, Leuconymphaea gigantea ( Hook. ) Kuntze, Nymphaea gigantea var hudsoniana F.Henkel et al, Nymphaea gigantea f hudsonii ( anon. ) KCLandon. , Nymphaea gigantea var hudsonii anon, Nymphaea gigantea var media F.Henkel et al, Nymphaea gigantea var neorosea KCLandon, Victoria fitzroyana hort nom inval ): .. .. . coming into New South Wales, Northern Territory and Queensland before.
• Nymphaea hastifolia Domin: It occurs in the northern Northern Territory and northern Western Australia.
• Nymphaea immutabilis SWLJacobs: It comes with two subspecies in Irian Jaya and the northern Northern Territory, northern Queensland and northern Western Australia.
• Nymphaea macrosperma Merr. & LMPerry: It comes in the eastern Irian Jaya, Papua New Guinea and northern Northern Territory, northern Queensland and northern Western Australia before.
• Nymphaea ondinea wages et al.: The two subspecies are endemic to a small area in Western Australia.
• Nymphaea violacea clay. ( Syn: Nymphaea brownii FMBailey, Nymphaea casparyi Rehnelt & F.Henkel, Nymphaea gigantea var violacea ( Lehm. ) Conard, Nymphaea holtzei Rehnelt & F.Henkel, Nymphaea holtzei var albiflora Rehnelt & F.Henkel nom inval. ., Nymphaea holtzei var eleonorae Rehnelt & F.Henkel, Nymphaea rehneltiana F.Henkel, Nymphaea violacea var coerulea clay). It comes in Papua New Guinea and northern northern Territory, northern Queensland and northern Western Australia before.

• Subgenus Brachyceras Caspary: it is widespread pantropical and contains about 18 species:

• Nymphaea ampla ( Salisb. ) DC. It is distributed in South and Central America.
• Blue Egyptian water lily ( Nymphaea caerulea Savigny ): It is widely used in Africa to the Arabian Peninsula.
• Blue Cape water lily ( Nymphaea capensis Thunb. ): It is widespread in southern and eastern Africa.
• Colorful water lily (Nymphaea colorata Peter ): The home is Tanzania.
• Nymphaea divaricata Hutch. It is distributed in the Western and Southern Africa.
• Nymphaea elegans Hook:. It is distributed in North and Central America.
• Nymphaea gracilis Zucc. The home is Mexico.
• Nymphaea guineensis Schumach. It is widespread in tropical West Africa.
• Nymphaea heudelotii Planch. It is Africa spread.
• Nymphaea micrantha Perr. & Guill. It is widespread in tropical West Africa.
• Nymphaea minuta K. C. Landon et al.: The home is Madagascar.
• Star - lily ( Nymphaea nouchali Burm ): It is spread from South Asia to northern Australia.
• Nymphaea ovalifolia Conard: It is widespread in Africa.
• Nymphaea pulchella DC. It is distributed in the Neotropics.
• Nymphaea stuhlmannii ( Engl ) Schweinf. & Gilg: The home is Tanzania.
• Sulfur -colored water lily ( Nymphaea sulphurea Gilg ): The home is South Africa.
• Nymphaea thermarum Eb.Fisch. The home is Rwanda.
• Nymphaea togoensis KCLandon: It is native to Togo.

• Subgenus Hydro Callis: It contains about 14 species:

• Nymphaea amazonum Mart. & Zucc. It occurs in Mexico, Central America and tropical South America.
• Nymphaea belophylla Trickett
• Nymphaea conardii Wiersema
• Nymphaea gardneriana Planch.
• Nymphaea glandulifera Rodschied
• Nymphaea jamesoniana Planch.
• Nymphaea lasiophylla Mart. & Zucc.
• Nymphaea lingulata Wiersema
• Nymphaea novogranatensis Wiersema
• Nymphaea oxypetala Planch.
• Nymphaea potamophila Wiersema
• Nymphaea prolifera Wiersema
• Nymphaea rudgeana G.Mey.
• Nymphaea tenerinervia Casp.

• Subgenus Lotos DC:. Contains only four species:

• Tiger Lotus ( Nymphaea lotus L.): It occurs in Africa and tropical Asia.
• Nymphaea pubescens Willd.
• Nymphaea rubra Roxb. ex Andrews
• Nymphaea spontanea K. C. Landon
• Nymphaea zenkeri Gilg

• Subgenus Nymphaea

• Section Chamaenymphaea

• Dwarf water lily ( Nymphaea tetragona Georgi )

• Section Eucastalia Planchon: With four ways:

• White water lily (Nymphaea alba L.): It is a well-known in Central Europe and domestic art
• Small water lily ( Nymphaea candida C.Presl )
• Fragrant Water Lily (Nymphaea odorata Aiton )
• Tuberous water lily ( Nymphaea tuberosa Paine )

• Xanthantha section: it contains only one type:

• Mexican water lily ( Nymphaea mexicana Zucc. ): It is widespread in central and southern North America.

Use

Some species was bred a large number of varieties. They are used as ornamental plants.

Swell

• John H. Wiersema: Nymphaea: Nymphaea - Online, In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee ( eds.): Flora of North America North of Mexico, Volume 3 - Magnoliidae and Hamamelidae, Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford, 1997. ISBN 0-19-511246-6. (Section Description and dissemination )
• Dezhi Fu, John H. Wiersema & Donald Padgett: Nymphaeaceae: Nymphaea, pp. 116 - Online, In: . Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven & Deyuan Hong (eds.): Flora of China, Volume 6 - Caryophyllaceae through Lardizabalaceae, Science Press and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing and St. Louis, 2001. ISBN 1-930723-05-9. (Section Description and dissemination )
• Nymphaea in the Germplasm Resources Information Network ( GRIN), USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Accessed on 22 June 2013. ( The database gives an overview of all currently scientifically accepted species and their distribution., The editor of the database, John Wiersema, is an internationally recognized expert on this genus.)
• Nymphaea in the Western Australian flora. ( Description section )