Nymphaea mexicana is a species of aquatic plant that is native to the Southern United States and Mexico as far south as Michoacán.Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map Common names include yellow water lily, Mexican water lily and banana water lily.
Description
Vegetative characteristics Nymphaea mexicana is a rhizomatous,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 aquatic, perennial herbThe Calflora Database. (n.d.). Nymphaea mexicana Zucc. Calflora. Retrieved December 2, 2024, from https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=5875 with stoloniferous, up to 30 cm long, and 4 cm wide rhizomes.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 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 four primary air canals. The flowers have four sepals and 12–30 yellow petals. The androecium consists of 50 stamens. The gynoecium consists of seven to ten carpels. The spheroid or ovoid fruit bears 3–5 mm long, and 3–5 mm wide seedsManaaki 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 with hairlike papillae. Tuberiferous flowers or proliferating pseudanthia can be present.
Cytology The chromosome count is n = 28. The genome size is 586.80 Mb. The chloroplast genome is 159962 bp long.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.
Taxonomy It was published by Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini in 1832.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 Within the subgenus Nymphaea subg. NymphaeaPellicer, 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. it is placed in the section Nymphaea sect. Xanthantha.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.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
Etymology The specific epithet mexicana refers to Mexico.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
Hybridisation Together with Nymphaea odorata, it forms the natural hybrid Nymphaea × thiona.
Reproduction Vegetative reproduction Nymphaea mexicana reproduces vegetatively through stolons. Their structure, resembling bananas, consists of leaf buds and thick, starchy roots.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 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 waterS.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] in lagoons, canals swamps, and rivers.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 It can occur in brackish water.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
Herbivory The canvasback duck, Aythya valisineria, feeds on the banana-like roots of the plant.
As an invasive species Together with its hybrids, it has become an invasive species outside of its natural range.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.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. For instance, it has been recorded in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the Iberian Peninsula.
References
External links
USDA Plants Profile Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center California Department of Food and Agriculture