Nymphaea guineensis is a species of waterlily native to the region spanning from tropical West Africa to Chad.
Description Vegetative characteristics The leaves are 22 cm long, and 19 cm wide.Jones, M. (1994). "Flowering plants of the Gambia." p. 21. CRC Press. The leaves have an entire margin.Gillet, H. (1962). "Végétation, agriculture et sol du Centre Tchad. Feuilles de Mongo-Melfi-Bokoro-Guera." Journal d'agriculture traditionnelle et de botanique appliquée, 9(11), 451-501. The abaxial leaf surface displays reddish colouration.
Generative characteristics The flowers are 13 cm wide. The petals are purple and pointed. The globose, smooth fruit bears numerous subglobose, arillate seeds.Schumacher, H. C. F. (1827). Beskrivelse af Guineeiske Planter som ere fundne af dankse Botanikere, især af Etatsraad Thonning. pp. 248-249. http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/openurl?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft.date=1827&rft.spage=248&rft_id=http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/51454&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:book&url_ver=z39.88-2004
Taxonomy Publication It was first described by Heinrich Christian Friedrich Schumacher and Peter Thonning in 1827.
Type specimen The type specimen was collected by Thonning in Ghana. Insects have damaged the preserved specimen.Hepper, F. N. (1972). Tropical African Plants: XXXI. Kew Bulletin, 26(3), 563–568. https://doi.org/10.2307/4120319
Placement within Nymphaea It is placed in Nymphaea subgenus Brachyceras.Borsch, T., Loehne, C., Mbaye, M. S., & Wiersema, J. (2011). "Towards a complete species tree of Nymphaea: shedding further light on subg. Brachyceras and its relationships to the Australian water-lilies." Telopea, 13(1-2), 193-217.
Etymology The specific epithet guineensis means "from Guinea".Cheek, M., Haba, P. M., Konomou, G., & Van Der Burgt, X. M. (2019). "Ternstroemia guineensis (Ternstroemiaceae), a new endangered cloudforest shrub with neotropical affinities from Kounounkan, Guinea, W Africa." Willdenowia, 49(3), 351-360.
Conservation The IUCN conservation status is least concern (LC).
Ecology Habitat In Togo, Nymphaea guineensis occurs in ponds.Yawo, K. (2019). "Contribution à la connaissance du commerce international de Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir (Fabaceae) au Togo, espèce végétale inscrite aux annexes de CITES (Master's thesis, Universidad Internacional de Andalucía)." In Nigeria, it has been observed in temporary, shallow, bright, aquatic habitats, which are less than 50 cm deep, and dry out in between the rainy seasons.Cook, G. D. K. (1968). "The vegetation of the Kainji Reservoir site in Northern Nigeria." Vegetatio, 15(4), 225-243. In Chad, it has also been observed in deep waters.Gillet, H. (1963). "Végétation, Agriculture et Sol du Centre et Sud Tchad. Feuilles de Miltou, Dagela, Koumra, Moussafoyo." Journal d'agriculture traditionnelle et de botanique appliquée, 10(1), 53-160. In North Chad, a prosperous population has been observed in a semi-desert region.Gillet, H. (1958). "Rapport sur une mission scientifique dans l'Ennedi et au Mourdi (Nord-Tchad)." Journal d'agriculture traditionnelle et de botanique appliquée, 5(11), 768-782.
Use In the Ivory Coast, the cooked seeds are eaten.Aké-Assi, E., Kouassi, F. A., & N’Goran, B. K. S. "CONTRIBUTION À L’ÉTUDE DES PLANTES ORNEMENTALES SPONTANÉES À USAGE ALIMENTAIRE DU SUD DE LA CÔTE D’IVOIRE CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF SPONTANEOUS ORNAMENTAL PLANTS FOR FOOD USE IN THE SOUTH OF THE IVORY COAST."
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