Nymphaea mexicana is a species of aquatic plant that is native to the Southern United States and Mexico as far south as Michoacán.[3][4] Common names include yellow water lily, Mexican water lily and banana water lily.

Nymphaea mexicana

Vulnerable  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Order: Nymphaeales
Family: Nymphaeaceae
Genus: Nymphaea
Subgenus: Nymphaea subg. Nymphaea
Species:
N. mexicana
Binomial name
Nymphaea mexicana
Synonyms[2]
List
  • Castalia mexicana (Zucc.) J.M.Coult.
  • Leuconymphaea mexicana (Zucc.) Kuntze
  • Castalia flava (Leitn. ex Audubon) Greene
  • Leuconymphaea flava (Leitn. ex Audubon) Kuntze
  • Nymphaea flava Leitn. ex Audubon
  • Nymphaea lutea Treat
  • Nymphaea planchonii Casp. ex Conard

Description

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Nymphaea mexicana Zucc. stolon with scale bar (3 cm) on a white background
 
Upper leaf surface
 
Longitudinally cut rhizome
 
A close-up of the flower

Vegetative characteristics

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Nymphaea mexicana is a rhizomatous,[5] aquatic,[6] perennial herb[7] with stoloniferous,[8][5] up to 30 cm long, and 4 cm wide rhizomes.[8] The rhizomes bear leaf and root scars.[9] The stolons are 15–100 cm long, and 0.5–1 cm wide.[10] The ovate, suborbicular,[9] or elliptic lamina is 7–18(–27) cm long, and 7–14(–18) cm wide.[5] The long, cylindrical petiole[9] is glabrous.[5]

Generative characteristics

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The floating or emersed,[5] yellow, 6–13 cm wide flowers have peduncles with 4 primary air canals.[10] The flowers have four sepals[6] and 12-30 yellow petals.[5] The androeceum consists of 50 stamens.[8] The gynoecium consists of 7-10 carpels.[5] The spheroid or ovoid fruit bears 3–5 mm long, and 3–5 mm wide seeds[11] with hairlike papillae.[11][5] Tuberiferous flowers or proliferating pseudanthia can be present.[12]

Taxonomy

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Publication

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It was published by Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini in 1832.[9][2] Within the subgenus Nymphaea subg. Nymphaea[13] it is placed in the section Nymphaea sect. Xanthantha.[14][10]

Hybridisation

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Together with Nymphaea odorata, it forms the natural hybrid Nymphaea × thiona.[5]

Etymology

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The specific epithet mexicana refers to Mexico.[6]

Cytology

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The chromosome count is n = 28. The genome size is 586.80 Mb.[15] The chloroplast genome is 159962 bp long.[16]

Reproduction

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Vegetative reproduction

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Nymphaea mexicana reproduces vegetatively through stolons. Their structure, resembling bananas, consists of leaf buds and thick, starchy roots.[17] Additionally, tuberiferous flowers or proliferating pseudanthia can be present.[12]

Conservation

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The NatureServe conservation status is Vulnerable (G3).[1]

Ecology

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Habitat

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It occurs in up to 4 m deep water[18] in lagoons, canals[19] swamps, and rivers.[20] It can occur in brackish water.[19]

Herbivory

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The canvasback duck, Aythya valisineria, feeds on the banana-like roots of the plant.[21]

As an invasive species

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Together with its hybrids, it has become an invasive species outside of its natural range.[22][23] For instance, it has been recorded in Australia,[8][20] South Africa,[22] and New Zealand.[11][6]

References

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  1. ^ a b Nymphaea mexicana. (n.d.). NatureServe. Retrieved February 9, 2024, from https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.136017/Nymphaea_mexicana
  2. ^ a b "Nymphaea mexicana Zucc". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Nymphaea mexicana". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  4. ^ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Nymphaea mexicana Zuccarini. (n.d.). Flora of North America @ efloras.org. Retrieved December 2, 2024, from http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500827
  6. ^ a b c d Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research. (n.d.-b). Nymphaea mexicana Zucc. Biota of New Zealand. Retrieved December 2, 2024, from https://biotanz.landcareresearch.co.nz/scientific-names/7170dae4-4e51-4868-be42-e5d9fa735353
  7. ^ The Calflora Database. (n.d.). Nymphaea mexicana  Zucc. Calflora. Retrieved December 2, 2024, from https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=5875
  8. ^ a b c d Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. (n.d.-b). Nymphaea mexicana Zucc. VicFlora Flora of Victoria. Retrieved December 2, 2024, from https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/fc0766f3-a2f3-432d-b997-48256d588310
  9. ^ a b c d Königlich Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften. & Königlich Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften. (1832). Abhandlungen der Mathematisch-Physikalischen Klasse der Königlich Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (Vol. 1, p. 365). https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11355625
  10. ^ a b c Conard, Henry S. (1905). The waterlilies: a monograph of the genus Nymphaea (pp. 163–167). Pub. by the Carnegie Institution of Washington. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35044992
  11. ^ a b c Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research. (n.d.-c). Nymphaea mexicana Zucc. Flora of New Zealand. Retrieved December 3, 2024, from https://www.nzflora.info/factsheet/taxon/Nymphaea-mexicana.html
  12. ^ a b Grob, V., Moline, P., Pfeifer, E., Novelo, A. R., & Rutishauser, R. (2006). Developmental morphology of branching flowers in Nymphaea prolifera. Journal of Plant Research, 119, 561-570.
  13. ^ Pellicer, J., Kelly, L. J., Magdalena, C., & Leitch, I. J. (2013). Insights into the dynamics of genome size and chromosome evolution in the early diverging angiosperm lineage Nymphaeales (water lilies). Genome, 56(8), 437-449.
  14. ^ Borsch, T., Hilu, K. W., Wiersema, J. H., Löhne, C., Barthlott, W., & Wilde, V. (2007). Phylogeny of Nymphaea (Nymphaeaceae): evidence from substitutions and microstructural changes in the chloroplast trnT-trnF region. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 168(5), 639-671.
  15. ^ Chen, Fei; Liu, Xing; Yu, Cuiwei; Chen, Yuchu; Tang, Haibao; Zhang, Liangsheng (2017). "Water lilies as emerging models for Darwin's abominable mystery". Horticulture Research. 4: 17051. doi:10.1038/hortres.2017.51. PMC 5626932. PMID 28979789.
  16. ^ Gruenstaeudl, M., Nauheimer, L., & Borsch, T. (2017). Plastid genome structure and phylogenomics of Nymphaeales: conserved gene order and new insights into relationships. Plant systematics and evolution, 303, 1251-1270.
  17. ^ Wiersema, J. H. (1988). Reproductive Biology of Nymphaea (Nymphaeaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 75(3), 795–804. https://doi.org/10.2307/2399367
  18. ^ S.W.L. Jacobs & C.L. Porter. Nymphaea mexicana, in (ed.), Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Nymphaea%20mexicana [Date Accessed: 04 December 2024]
  19. ^ a b Alabama Herbarium Consortium & University of West Alabama. (n.d.). Nymphaea mexicana. Alabama Plant Atlas. Retrieved December 3, 2024, from http://floraofalabama.org/Plant.aspx?id=2705
  20. ^ a b Western Australian Herbarium & Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. (n.d.-c). Nymphaea mexicana Zucc. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora. Retrieved December 3, 2024, from https://florabase.dbca.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/2922
  21. ^ Mowbray, Thomas B. (2020-03-04). "Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)". Birds of the World. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  22. ^ a b Reid, M. K., Paterson, I. D., Coetzee, J. A., Gettys, L. A., & Hill, M. P. (2023). Know thy enemy: Investigating genetic contributions from putative parents of invasive Nymphaea mexicana hybrids in South Africa as part of efforts to develop biological control. Biological Control, 184, 105291.
  23. ^ Reid, M. K., Naidu, P., Paterson, I. D., Mangan, R., & Coetzee, J. A. (2021). Population genetics of invasive and native Nymphaea mexicana Zuccarini: Taking the first steps to initiate a biological control programme in South Africa. Aquatic Botany, 171, 103372.
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