Nymphaea × khurooi is an artificial hybrid of Nymphaea alba and Nymphaea odorata, which has been naturalised in India.
Description Vegetative characteristics Nymphaea × khurooi is a perennial,Nymphaea x khurooi - Meghalaya Red Water Lily. (n.d.). Flowers of India. Retrieved June 14, 2025, from https://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Meghalaya%20Red%20Water%20Lily.html rhizomatous aquatic herb with a horizontal rhizome. The petiolate leaf with an entire margin and rounded basal lobes has impressed veins. The leaf surface does not have a mottling pattern. The juvenile leaves display bronze colouration. The petiole has four central air canals. Generative characteristics The small, red flowers has a peduncle with five central canals. The flowers have 23–28 petals. The androeceum consists of 75–100 stamens with 20 mm long filaments and yellow-orange anthers. The gynoeceum consists of 17–22 carpels. It is sterile.
Taxonomy It was described by Milind Madhav Sardesai and Mayur Dhondiram Nandikar in 2020.Nymphaea × khurooi Sardesai & Nandikar. (n.d.-b). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved June 13, 2025, from https://www.ipni.org/n/77212176-1Nymphaea × khurooi Sardesai & Nandikar. (n.d.). Plants of the World Online. Retrieved June 13, 2025, from https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77212176-1Nandikar, M. D., & Sardesai, M. M. (2020). Invalidation of the name Nymphaea alba var. rubra and addition of the new nothospecies name Nymphaea× khurooi (Nymphaeaceae). Phytotaxa, 461(3), 219-221. The type specimen was collected by A. Hassan and A. Masoodi on the 11th of October 2018 in Jammu-Kashmir, India. Etymology The hybrid name khurooi refers to Anzar Ahmad Khuroo from the University of Kashmir. Hybridisation It is a hybrid of Nymphaea alba and Nymphaea odorata.
Distribution It has been naturalised in IndiaDkhar, J., Kumaria, S., & Tandon, P. (2011, January). Nymphaea alba var. rubra is a hybrid of N. alba and N. odorata as evidenced by molecular analysis. In Annales Botanici Fennici (pp. 317-324). Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board. (Meghalaya, Jammu & Kashmir), where it occurs in lakes.
Habitat It occurs in lakes.
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