Wikipedia

Nymphaea pubescens

Nymphaea pubescens
water lily (Nymphaea pubescens)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Order: Nymphaeales
Family: Nymphaeaceae
Genus: Nymphaea
Subgenus: Nymphaea subg. Lotos
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.

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

Description

[edit]
Adaxial leaf surface of Nymphaea pubescens
Adaxial leaf surface of Nymphaea pubescens

Vegetative characteristics

[edit]

Nymphaea pubescens is an annual[3] or perennial,[3][4] rhizomatous,[3] aquatic herb[5] with erect, stoloniferous,[6] tuberous, up to 8 cm long rhizomes[3] bearing slim stolons.[6] The petiolate, ovate, elliptic, suborbicular,[7] orbicular, or sagittate leaves[8] with a dentate margin[6] are 15–40 cm long, and 12–35 cm wide.[7] The abaxial leaf surface is pubescent.[3][6]

Generative characteristics

[edit]

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.

Taxonomy

[edit]

It was published by Carl Ludwig Willdenow in 1799.[2] It is placed in Nymphaea subg. Lotos.[9]

Etymology

[edit]

The specific epithet pubescens means with soft short hairs.[10][11]

Distribution and habitat

[edit]
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.[citation needed]

It is also found in northeastern Australia and Papua New Guinea.[12]

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.[citation needed]

Use

[edit]

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.[13]

Common names

[edit]

The hairy water lily is known kokaa in Hindi and Kumuda in Sanskrit.[14]

References

[edit]
  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. ^ a b "Nymphaea pubescens Willd". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e S.W.L. Jacobs & C.L. Porter. Nymphaea pubescens, 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%20pubescens [Date Accessed: 27 September 2025]
  4. ^ Northern Territory Government. (2013). Nymphaea pubescens Willd. FloraNT. Retrieved September 26, 2025, from https://eflora.nt.gov.au/factsheet?id=4001
  5. ^ Flora of Sri Lanka. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2025, from https://www.floraofsrilanka.com/species/1315
  6. ^ a b c d Nymphaea lotus var. pubescens in Flora of China @ efloras.org. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2025, from http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200007088
  7. ^ a b Forest Herbarium & Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. (n.d.). Nymphaea pubescens Willd. Flora of Thailand. Retrieved September 26, 2025, from https://botany.dnp.go.th/eflora/floraspecies.html?tdcode=07293
  8. ^ Nymphaea pubescens Willd. (n.d.). Flora of Pakistan. Retrieved September 26, 2025, from http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=242334156
  9. ^ Conard, H. S. (1905). "The waterlilies: A monograph of the genus Nymphaea." pp. 198-199. Carnegie Institution of Washington.
  10. ^ Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2025). Flora of Mozambique: Species information: Holarrhena pubescens. https://www.mozambiqueflora.com/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=145020, retrieved 26 September 2025
  11. ^ Lamant, T. (2013, March 23). Species Spotlight: Quercus pubescens Willd. International Oak Society. Retrieved September 26, 2025, from https://www.internationaloaksociety.org/content/species-spotlight-quercus-pubescens-willd
  12. ^ "Taxonomy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
  13. ^ Nymphaea pubescens
  14. ^ Names
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nymphaea pubescens.