Nymphaea pygmaea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nymphaea pygmaea | |
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| Illustration of Nymphaea pygmaea | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Order: | Nymphaeales |
| Family: | Nymphaeaceae |
| Genus: | Nymphaea |
| Subgenus: | Nymphaea subg. Nymphaea |
| Section: | Nymphaea sect. Chamaenymphaea |
| Species: | N. pygmaea |
| Binomial name | |
| Nymphaea pygmaea (Salisb.) W.T.Aiton[1] | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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List
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Nymphaea pygmaea is a controversial species[3][2] of perennial, aquatic herb[2] in the family Nymphaeaceae[4] native to Asia.[5]
Vegetative characteristics
It is a perennial, aquatic herb with erect, cylindrical, unbranched rhizomes without stolons.[2] The obovate to orbicular, thick,[6] 5.5–24 cm long, and 4.5–21 cm wide leaves[2] with diverging basal lobes[7] have an entire margin.[2][8] The upper leaf surface is green to purple.[6] The petiole is slender.[7]
Generative characteristics
The white,[7] floating, 3–6 cm wide flower has four sepals[2] with an obtuse apex[7] and 5–17 petals[6] with an obtuse apex.[7] The androecium consists of 24–71 stamens. The gynoecium consists of 5-11 carpels.[6] The globose fruit bears ellipsoid to ovoid, 1.9–3.6 mm long, and 1.3–2.6 mm wide seeds.[2]
Cytology
Taxonomy
It was first published as Castalia pygmaea Salisb. by Richard Anthony Salisbury in 1807.[11] It was placed in the genus Nymphaea L. as Nymphaea pygmaea (Salisb.) W.T.Aiton by William Townsend Aiton published in 1811.[1] It is widely regarded as a synonym of Nymphaea tetragona Georgi.[12][1][13][14] The circumscription of Nymphaea tetragona in East Asia is however problematic and these problematic plants may be deserving of the status of a separate species Nymphaea pygmaea.[3] There are several studies supporting this separate status.[2][6][5]
Position within Nymphaea
Within the subgenus Nymphaea subg. Nymphaea, it is placed in the section Nymphaea sect. Chamaenymphaea,[15] of which it is the type species.[16] It is identified as the sister group to Nymphaea tetragona and Nymphaea leibergii based on nuclear ribosomal DNA,[5][2] but the relationships based on the analysis of the chloroplast DNA is unclear.[5]
