Nymphaea mexicana explained

Nymphaea mexicana is a species of aquatic plant that is native to the Southern United States and Mexico as far south as Michoacán.[1] Common names include yellow water lily, Mexican water lily and banana water lily.

Description

Vegetative characteristics

Nymphaea mexicana is a rhizomatous,[2] aquatic, perennial herb[3] with stoloniferous, up to 30 cm long, and 4 cm wide rhizomes.[4] The rhizomes bear leaf and root scars. The stolons are 15–100 cm long, and 0.5–1 cm wide. The ovate, suborbicular, or elliptic lamina is 7–18(–27) cm long, and 7–14(–18) cm wide. The long, cylindrical petiole is glabrous.

Generative characteristics

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

Taxonomy

Publication

It was published by Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini in 1832.[7] Within the subgenus Nymphaea subg. Nymphaea[8] it is placed in the section Nymphaea sect. Xanthantha.[9] [10]

Hybridisation

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

Etymology

The specific epithet mexicana refers to Mexico.[11]

Cytology

The chromosome count is n = 28. The genome size is 586.80 Mb.[12] The chloroplast genome is 159962 bp long.[13]

Reproduction

Vegetative reproduction

Nymphaea mexicana reproduces vegetatively through stolons. Their structure, resembling bananas, consists of leaf buds and thick, starchy roots.[14] Additionally, tuberiferous flowers or proliferating pseudanthia can be present.

Conservation

The NatureServe conservation status is Vulnerable (G3).

Ecology

Habitat

It occurs in up to 4 m deep water[15] in lagoons, canals swamps, and rivers.[16] It can occur in brackish water.[17]

Herbivory

The canvasback duck, Aythya valisineria, feeds on the banana-like roots of the plant.[18]

As an invasive species

Together with its hybrids, it has become an invasive species outside of its natural range.[19] [20] For instance, it has been recorded in Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand.

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Nymphaea%20mexicana.png Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  2. 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
  3. The Calflora Database. (n.d.). Nymphaea mexicana  Zucc. Calflora. Retrieved December 2, 2024, from https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=5875
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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.
  7. 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
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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. 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
  12. Chen . Fei . Liu . Xing . Yu . Cuiwei . Chen . Yuchu . Tang . Haibao . Zhang . Liangsheng . Water lilies as emerging models for Darwin's abominable mystery . Horticulture Research . 2017 . 4 . 17051 . 10.1038/hortres.2017.51 . 28979789. free . 5626932 .
  13. 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.
  14. 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
  15. 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]
  16. 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
  17. 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
  18. Web site: Mowbray . Thomas B. . Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) . Birds of the World . . 2020-03-04 . 2021-04-20.
  19. 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.
  20. 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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