''Nuphar'' is a genus of
aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...
s in the family
Nymphaeaceae
Nymphaeaceae () is a family of flowering plants, commonly called water lilies. They live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains nine genera with about 70 known species. Water li ...
, with a
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
to
subarctic
The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Generally, ...
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
distribution. Common names include water-lily (Eurasian species; shared with many other genera in the same family), pond-lily, alligator-bonnet or bonnet lily, and spatterdock (North American species).
Taxonomy
![Nuphar lutea 02 by-dpc](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Nuphar_lutea_02_by-dpc.jpg)
The
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
is closely related to ''
Nymphaea
''Nymphaea'' () is a genus of hardy and tender aquatic plants in the family Nymphaeaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. Many species are cultivated as ornamental plants, and many cultivars have been bred. Some taxa occur as introduc ...
''. ''Nuphar'' differs in that its
petal
Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...
s are much smaller than its 4–6 bright yellow-coloured
sepal
A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...
s, whereas in ''Nymphaea'', the petals are much larger than the sepals. The genera also differ in the maturation of their
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
; while maturing, ''Nuphar'' fruit remain above water level on their
scapes, whereas fruit of ''Nymphaea'' sink below water level immediately after their flowers close, and there they mature. In both genera the
leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
float and have a radial notch from the circumference to the point of attachment of the
petiole. Depending on the species, the leaves of most species range from
cordate
Cordate is an adjective meaning 'heart-shaped' and is most typically used for:
* Cordate (leaf shape), in plants
* Cordate axe, a prehistoric stone tool
See also
* Chordate
A chordate () is an animal of the phylum Chordata (). All chordat ...
to practically circular with the petiole attached in the middle, giving a
peltate
The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...
appearance. Some however, have modified versions of that leaf morphology; for example the leaves of ''N. sagittifolia'' have leaves of an elongated sagittate form.
The number of species in the genus is still under review.
[The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed February 2016)] Until the mid-20th century, some botanists treated the genus as just a single variable species (for which the European ''
N. lutea'' has priority), while some other authorities accepted about a dozen more species on the basis of traditional taxonomic standards.
Recent molecular work has shown that there are substantial differences between the Eurasian species (sect. ''Nuphar'') and American species (sect. ''Astylus''), except for North American ''N. microphylla'' which clusters with the Eurasian species.
Molecular taxonomy has shown conclusively that recognition of so few species is out of the question, and forced an increased number of recognised species; some sources list about seventy.[ The ]Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...
plant list includes over twenty accepted species, subspecies and varieties; it also has a similar number as yet unresolved, together with over twenty synonyms.
In 2017, the abundant fossilized seeds of a water lily, known as ''Notonuphar
''Notonuphar'' is an Extinction, extinct genus of Nymphaeaceae, water lily in the family Nymphaeaceae. It contains a single species, ''Notonuphar antarctica''. It is only known only from the Eocene-aged La Meseta Formation of Seymour Island, Antar ...
'', were identified in the Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
-aged La Meseta Formation
The La Meseta Formation is a sedimentary sequence deposited during the Eocene. The formation is found on Seymour Island, Antarctica.
Description
La Meseta Formation lies unconformably on the Cretaceous Lopez de Bertodano Formation. It is an app ...
of Seymour Island
Seymour Island or Marambio Island, is an island in the chain of 16 major islands around the tip of the Graham Land on the Antarctic Peninsula. Graham Land is the closest part of Antarctica to South America. It lies within the section of the isla ...
, Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...
. The seed anatomy of ''Notonuphar'' closely resembles that of ''Nuphar'', and for this reason, both are thought to be sister genera. ''Notonuphar'' is the first relative of ''Nuphar'' known to have inhabited Gondwana
Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...
, and the wide geographic separation of both genera (''Notonuphar'' inhabited Antarctica, while all extant and extinct ''Nuphar'' species are known from the Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
) supports the modern range of ''Nuphar'' being a relict distribution
In biogeography and paleontology, a relict is a population or taxon of organisms that was more widespread or more diverse in the past. A relictual population is a population currently inhabiting a restricted area whose Range (biology), range was fa ...
.
Species
''Nuphar'' Section ''Astylus''
* ''Nuphar advena
''Nuphar advena'' (spatterdock or cow lily or yellow pond-lily) is a species of ''Nuphar'' native throughout the eastern United States and in some parts of Canada, such as Nova Scotia.Flora of North America''Nuphar advena''/ref> It is similar to ...
'' ( Aiton) W.T.Aiton –Spatterdock
* †''Nuphar carlquistii
''Nuphar carlquistii'' is an extinct species of flowering plant in the family Nymphaeaceae related to the modern spatterdock, '' Nuphar advena''. The species is known from fossil seeds and fruits found in the early Eocene Okanagan Highlands d ...
'' DeVore, Taylor, & Pigg
* ''Nuphar polysepala
''Nuphar polysepala'' (the great yellow pond-lily or wokas; syn. ''Nuphar polysepalum'' orth. err., ''Nuphar lutea'' subsp. ''polysepala'' (Engelm.) E.O.Beal) is a species of ''Nuphar'' native to western North America.Flora of North America''Nuph ...
'' Engelm.
George Engelmann, also known as Georg Engelmann, (2 February 1809 – 4 February 1884) was a German-American botanist. He was instrumental in describing the flora (plants), flora of the west of North America, then very poorly known to Europeans; ...
-Wocus
* '' Nuphar sagittifolia'' (Walter
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
) Pursh
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
* ''Nuphar variegata
''Nuphar variegata'' (variegated pond-lily, bullhead pond-lily or yellow pond-lilyDickinson, T.; Metsger, D.; Bull, J.; & Dickinson, R. (2004) ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto:McClelland and Stewart Ltd., p ...
'' Engelm. ex Durand – Variegated pond-lily
''Nuphar'' Section ''Nuphar''
* ''Nuphar japonica
''Nuphar japonica'', known as East Asian yellow water-lily, is an aquatic plant species in the genus ''Nuphar'' found in Japan and the Korean Peninsula. It is endangered in Russia. The species was not accepted by The Plant List , which regarded i ...
'' DC.
Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle ...
* ''Nuphar lutea
''Nuphar lutea'', the yellow water-lily, brandy-bottle, or spadderdock, is an aquatic plant of the family ''Nymphaeaceae'', native to northern temperate and some subtropical regions of Europe, northwest Africa, western Asia, North America, and ...
'' ( L.) Sm.
__NOTOC__
Sir James Edward Smith (2 December 1759 – 17 March 1828) was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society.
Early life and education
Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He displayed a ...
– Yellow water-lily (type species)
* '' Nuphar microphylla''
* ''Nuphar pumila
''Nuphar pumila'', the least water-lily or small yellow pond-lily, is an aquatic perennial plant in the Nymphaeaceae family. It is also known as the dwarf water lily since it looks like a smaller ''Nuphar lutea''. while ''Nuphar pumila'' has a ...
'' ( Timm) DC. – Least water-lily
There also are several interspecific hybrids.
Etymology
The etymology of the word is: medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...
''nuphar'', from medieval Latin ''nenuphar'', thence from Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
''nīnūfar'', thence from Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
''nīlūfar'', thence from Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
''nīlōtpala'' = blue lotus flower. For botanical gender, the name is treated as feminine.
Ecology
''Nuphar'' species occur in ponds, lakes, and slow-moving rivers, growing in water up to deep; different species are variously adapted either to nutrient-rich waters (e.g. ''N. lutea'') or nutrient-poor waters (e.g. '' N. pumila'').[Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. ]
Wetland soils are hypoxic, and this genus is known to be capable of temporary growth even in the absence of oxygen. Also there can be mass flow of oxygen-containing air, entering by means of the young leaves, passing through the rhizome, and exiting through the older leaves. Both of these physiological adaptations to flooding are considered typical of many wetland and aquatic plants.
Like many other vigorously growing members of the Nymphaeaceae, some species of ''Nuphar'' tend to cover the water surface completely, blocking out the light and thereby killing both submerged plants and less competitive surface-growing aquatics. They also produce alkaloids that have experimentally been shown to be allelopathic
Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon by which an organism produces one or more biochemicals that influence the germination, growth, survival, and reproduction of other organisms. These biochemicals are known as allelochemicals and can have ben ...
, though it is not clear how relevant the compounds may be in the wild.
Birds such as some species of ducks eat ''Nuphar'' seeds, and mammals such as beaver and coypu
The nutria (''Myocastor coypus''), also known as the coypu, is a large, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent.
Classified for a long time as the only member of the family Myocastoridae, ''Myocastor'' is now included within Echimyidae, the family of t ...
eat the roots of at least some species. Deer eat the flowers and young leaves, and the leaves are grazed by other animals.
Uses
''Nuphar'' species are less generally useful as food or medicine than various species in the related water lily genus ''Nymphaea''. Claims of the edibility or otherwise of the plant have varied wildly, which might in some cases have reflected errors and confusion, but in the light of the recognition of an increased number of species, the confusion might largely be because hitherto unrecognised species differ in their attributes.
Some species have been used by indigenous peoples. Young shoots and leaves sometimes were cooked but might be too bitter to eat. Whether the roots may be eaten, as is widely reported, is open to doubt; some sources claim that they are too bitter, too full of tannin
Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids.
The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'', ...
, or simply too poisonous to eat unsoaked, except when treated for so long that they are not viable as a famine food. All sources however, agree that ripe seeds may be popped or variously used in cookery. They then are pleasant and nutritious, but require a lot of work to harvest and strip from the fruit capsule. To some extent this may be circumvented rotting the fruit under water for three weeks or more, after which removing the seeds is easier. The rotting material however, is very unpleasant to deal with. The flower petals are said to be used in making tea, but it is not clear whether that refers to the petals proper, or to the larger and more conspicuous sepals. The leaves of some species are large enough to be of use in wrapping food, for example in cooking.
Alkaloid
Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...
s in the genus include nupharolutine, nuphamine and nupharidine. The presence of such compounds could explain some of the medicinal uses
There has been growing interest in ''Nuphar'' alkaloids, their biological and pharmacological significance and their synthesis in recent decades. It has been speculated that these and other bioactive compounds might be related to some of the folk-medical applications of the plants.
Apart from pharmaceuticals, the leaves of ''Nuphar'' are reported to contain sufficient concentrations of tannin to have been widely used for tanning and dyeing leather, and also as a styptic
An antihemorrhagic (antihæmorrhagic) agent is a substance that promotes hemostasis (stops bleeding). It may also be known as a hemostatic (also spelled haemostatic) agent.
Antihemorrhagic agents used in medicine have various mechanisms of action: ...
for staunching bleeding. The roots of some species also contain sufficient tannin to have been used for tanning.
Gallery
Nuphar pumilum (6) 1200.jpg, ''Nuphar pumila''
Nuphar saggitifolia.JPG, ''Nuphar sagittifolia'', leaves sagittate
WaterlilliesKNWR.jpg, "Field" of Nuphar on a small lake, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge
The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife habitat preserve located on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska, United States. It is adjacent to Kenai Fjords National Park. This refuge was created in 1941 as the Kenai National Moose Range, but in 198 ...
, Alaska
See also
* List of plants known as lily Lily usually refers to herbaceous plants of the genus ''Lilium'', with large showy trumpet-shaped flowers. Many species are cultivated as ornamentals.
Many other plants not closely related to lilies are called lilies, usually because their flowers ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q147685
Nymphaeaceae
Freshwater plants
Nymphaeales genera