Nymphaea candida
Species of water lily
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nymphaea candida is a species of perennial, aquatic,[2] rhizomatous herb[3] in the family Nymphaeaceae native to the region spanning from Europe to Siberia and Western Himalaya.[1]
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| Nymphaea candida | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Order: | Nymphaeales |
| Family: | Nymphaeaceae |
| Genus: | Nymphaea |
| Subgenus: | Nymphaea subg. Nymphaea |
| Species: | N. candida |
| Binomial name | |
| Nymphaea candida | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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List
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Description
Vegetative characteristics
Nymphaea candida is a perennial, aquatic,[2] rhizomatous herb[3] with unbranched,[4] 5 cm wide rhizomes.[5] The petiolate, stipulate,[3] oval to suborbicular floating leaf with an entire margin[5] and a deep basal sinus[6] is 10–30 cm long, and 25 cm wide.[5] The oblong submerged leaves have a thin lamina and short petioles.[3] The thick, terete,[3] smooth,[5] 30–100(–160) cm long petiole[7] has air canals.[3]
Generative characteristics
The bisexual,[7] actinomorphic, 5–15 cm wide flower[3] floats on the water surface.[4] The 4(–5) oblong to ovate-oblong sepals are 3.8 cm long, and 1.3 cm wide. The 12–20 white petals[5] are 3–5.5 cm long and show a gradual transition towards the stamens.[4] The petals decrease in size towards the centre of the flower.[6] The androecium consists of 32–70 stamens.[5] The gynoecium consists of 6–14 carpels.[8] The red or yellow stigmatic disk[6] is concave.[6][9][7] The green to red, ovoid to spherical, 1.9–4.4 cm wide fruit with persistent sepals bears ellipsoid, brown, arillate,[5] 4-6 mm long,[3] and 3-4 mm wide seeds.[6]
Cytology
The chromosome count is 2n = 112, 160.[4] The genome size is 1936.44 Mb.[10]
Taxonomy
The plant was described by Carl Borivoj Presl in 1882.[11][12] However, sometimes both Carl Borivoj Presl and Jan Svatopluk Presl are credited as the taxon authors.[2][3] Within the subgenus Nymphaea subg. Nymphaea it is placed in the section Nymphaea sect. Nymphaea.[13]
Etymology
The specific epithet candida from the Latin candidus means pure white.[14]
Distribution and habitat
It grows in the quiet freshwaters in Eurasia. The plant grows only in water, as it is an aquatic plant, mainly in ponds, lakes, and slow flowing streams.[15]