Nymphaea pubescens

Nymphaea pubescens, the hairy water lily or pink water-lily, is a species of water lily.

Nymphaea pubescens
water lily (Nymphaea pubescens)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Order: Nymphaeales
Family: Nymphaeaceae
Genus: Nymphaea
Species:
N. pubescens
Binomial name
Nymphaea pubescens
Synonyms[2]
  • Castalia pubescens (Willd.) Wood
  • Nymphaea lotus var. pubescens (Willd.) Hook.f. & Thomson
  • Nymphaea devoniensis Hook.
  • Nymphaea purpurea Rehnelt & F.Henkel
  • Nymphaea semisterilis Lehm.

Distribution
White and pink Nymphaea pubescens blooming in a pond.

This plant is common in shallow lakes and ponds throughout temperate and tropical Asia: Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Yunnan, Taiwan, Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. It is the national flower of Bangladesh.[3]

It is also found in northeastern Australia and Papua New Guinea.[4]

The hairy water lily is found both as a cultivated plant as well as in the wild. It prefers non-acidic waters and it does not tolerate temperatures below 15 °C.

Description

The hairy water lily is an aquatic plant having erect perennial rhizomes or rootstocks that anchor it to the mud in the bottom. The rhizomes produce slender stolons.

Its leave blades are round above the water and heart-shaped below 15–26(–50) cm, papery, abaxially densely pubescent. Some of the leaves that emerge rise slightly above the water held by their stem in lotus fashion, but most of them just float on the surface. The floating leaves have undy edges that make a crenellate effect.

The hairy water lily is also commercialized as an aquarium plant. The underwater leaves of this species have a handsome appearance that is appreciated by aquarists who often remove the floating leaves to keep it as a fully subaquatic plant.[5]

The flowers are quite large, about 15 cm in diameter when fully open. They tend to close during the daytime and open wide at night. Their color varies from white to pink, mauve or purple depending from the variety or hybrid.

Naming and variants

The hairy water lily is known kokaa in Hindi and Kumuda in Sanskrit.[6] The leaves of this plant have fuzzy or hairy undersides and the stems are covered by the same hairs as well, hence the name "pubescens" or "hairy" of the species. This is not a characteristic that is apparent when looking at the plant from above the water though.

This species of water lily has quite a few artificially raised varieties, in addition to many natural hybrids.

References
  1. Gupta, A.K. 2011. Nymphaea pubescens. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011: e.T168878A6544567. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T168878A6544567.en. Accessed on 03 July 2023.
  2. "Nymphaea pubescens Willd". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  3. Islam, Sirajul (2012). "National Emblem". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  4. "Taxonomy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
  5. Nymphaea pubescens
  6. Names
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