The Nymphaeales are an order of flowering plants, consisting of three families of aquatic plants, the Hydatellaceae, the Cabombaceae, and the Nymphaeaceae (water lilies). It is one of the three orders of basal angiosperms, an early-diverging grade of flowering plants. At least 10 morphological characters unite the Nymphaeales.Peter F. Stevens. 2001 onwards. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see External links below). One of the traits is the absence of a vascular cambium, which is required to produce both xylem (wood) and phloem, which therefore are missing.Water lily ( Nymphaea thermarum) genome reveals variable genomic signatures of ancient vascular cambium losses | bioRxiv Molecular synapomorphies are also known.
The Plant List, created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden recognizes about 70 species in 11 genera within the order,The Plant List (website). 2010. (See External links below.) but a phylogenetic study of the genus Nymphaea implies that the number of species could be more than 90. The difference in species numbers is due almost entirely to the difficulty of delineating species in the genus Nymphaea.
Most of the species are rhizomatous aquatic herbs with a broad leaf base and large, showy flowers.
Description Vegetative characteristics Nymphaeales are rhizomatousManaaki Whenua – Landcare Research. (n.d.-b). Nymphaeales Salisb. ex Bercht. & J.Presl. Flora of New Zealand. Retrieved February 25, 2025, from https://www.nzflora.info/factsheet/taxon/Nymphaeales.html or tuberous, aquaticBerry, P. E. (n.d.). Nymphaeales. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved February 25, 2025, from https://www.britannica.com/plant/Nymphaeales or sub-aquatic, annual or perennialJohansson, J. T. (n.d.). Nymphaeales Salisb. ex Bercht. et J. Presl. The Phylogeny of Angiosperms. Retrieved February 25, 2025, from http://angio.bergianska.se/Nymphaeales/Nymphaeales.html herbs. The leaves are submerged, floating, or emerged. The floating leaves are 1 mmØrgaard, M. (1991). The genus Cabomba (Cabombaceae)–a taxonomic study. Nordic Journal of Botany, 11(2), 179-203. to 3.2 m wide.Smith, L. T., Magdalena, C., Przelomska, N. A., Pérez-Escobar, O. A., Melgar-Gómez, D. G., Beck, S., ... & Monro, A. K. (2022). Revised species delimitation in the giant water lily genus Victoria (Nymphaeaceae) confirms a new species and has implications for its conservation. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, 883151.
Generative characteristics The plants are bisexual, monoecious or dioecious. The female gametophyte is the Schisandra-type, consisting of four cells.Ovule and female gametophyte in representatives of Nymphaea subgenus Hydrocallis and Victoria (Nymphaeaceae; Nymphaeoideae)
Fossils The fossil record consists especially of seeds, but also pollen, stems, leaves, and flowers. It extends back to the Cretaceous. The crown group of the Nymphaeales has been estimated to be about 112 million years old. Some have suggested that this age might be too old.
A basal member of Nymphaeales, Monetianthus, is known from Early Cretaceous Portugal. A fossil member of the Nympheaceae is Jaguariba from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil. Several Cretaceous-age Cabombaceae genera are also known, including Scutifolium from Jordan, Pluricarpellatia from Brazil, and Brasenites from Kansas. The fossil genus Notonuphar, thought to be a close relative of the modern Nuphar, is known from Eocene-aged sediments from Seymour Island, Antarctica. The genus Brasipelta Krassilov has been described from the late Cretaceous of Israel.Brasipelta gregaria Krassilov. (n.d.). The International Fossil Plant Names Index (IFPNI). Retrieved November 14, 2024, from https://ifpni.org/species.htm?id=3CD513C8-3746-4D2C-08A8-D0153805A9ECBrasipelta Krassilov. (n.d.). The International Fossil Plant Names Index (IFPNI). Retrieved November 14, 2024, from https://ifpni.org/genus.htm?id=4530BA8A-59B8-BEF9-F963-99080BD0449AKrassilov V. A., Lewy Z., Nevo E., & Silantieva N. (2005) Late Cretaceous (Turonian) flora of southern Negev, Israel. The aquatic plant fossil Archaefructus from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning, China possibly also belongs to this group.
Classification The Nymphaeales currently include three families and about 70 to 90 species.
order Nymphaeales Cabombaceae Brasenia (one species) Cabomba (five species) Hydatellaceae Trithuria (12 species) Nymphaeaceae Barclaya (three or four species) Euryale (one species) Nuphar (10–12 species) Nymphaea (35–50 species) Victoria (three species) The classification of Nymphaeales and phylogeny within the flowering plants, as of APG III (2009).
This order was not part of the APG II system's 2003 plant classification (unchanged from the APG system of 1998), which instead had a broadly circumscribed family Nymphaeaceae (including Cabombaceae) unplaced in any order. The APG III system did separate the Cabombaceae from the Nymphaeaceae and placed them in the order Nymphaeales together with the Hydatellaceae. The family Hydatellaceae was placed among the monocots in previous systems, but a 2007 study found that the family belongs to the Nymphaeales. In the APG IV system, Hydatellaceae, Cabombaceae and Nymphaeaceae are the three families included in the Nymphaeales.
Some earlier systems, such as Cronquist's system of 1981, often included the Ceratophyllaceae and Nelumbonaceae in the Nymphaeales. Although, the Takhtajan system of 1980 separated the Nelumbonales, the new order was retained alongside the Nymphaeales in the superorder Nymphaeanae.
The Cronquist system placed the Nymphaeales in subclass Magnoliidae, in class Magnoliopsida [=dicotyledons]. In addition, Cronquist included the Ceratophyllaceae and split the family Barclayaceae from the Nymphaeaceae. Under the APG II system, the family Cabombaceae was included within the Nymphaeaceae, but could optionally be recognized separately. As of APG III, the two families are recognized separately.
The Dahlgren system placed the Nymphaeales with the Piperales in superorder Nymphaeanae, within subclass Magnoliideae (dicotyledons). Thorne's 1992 system (and 2000 revision) placed the Nymphaeales as the sole order in the superorder Nymphaeanae within subclass Magnoliideae (=dicotyledons).
+Comparison of the Nymphaeales across five systems APG III systemNymphaeales Takhtajan systemNymphaeales Cronquist systemNymphaeales Dahlgren systemNymphaeales Thorne system (1992) & (2000)Nymphaeales Hydatellaceae among monocots, as Hydatellales Cabombaceae Cabombaceae Brasenia, Cabomba Cabombaceae Brasenia, Cabomba Cabombaceae Cabombaceae Brasenia, Cabomba Nymphaeaceae Nymphaeaceae subf. Barclayoideae, Euryaloideae, Nymphaeoideae Barclayaceae Barclaya Nymphaeaceae Nymphaeaceae Barclaya, Euryale, Nuphar, Nymphaea, Ondinea, Victoria Nymphaeaceae Euryale, Nuphar, Nymphaea, Ondinea, Victoria sister to eudicot clade Ceratophyllaceae Ceratophyllaceae Ceratophyllaceae in Ranunculanae in Proteales in Nelumbonales Nelumbonaceae in Magnolianae
References
Further reading Michael G. Simpson. Plant Systematics. Elsevier Academic Press. 2006. Thomas N. Taylor, Edith L. Taylor, and Michael Krings. 2008. Paleobotany: The Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants, Second Edition. Academic Press (an imprint of Elsevier): Burlington MA, USA.
External links Nymphaeales At: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website At: botanical databases At: Plant Science At: Missouri Botanical Garden