''Nymphaea gigantea'' is a species of aquatic

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

plant native to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

. ''N. gigantea'' is a tropical and sub-tropical species that establishes

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...

s in the muddy bottoms of still waters. Petals can be seen to be a light purple-blue when they first blossom. As they become mature plants they become a light blue, or can even be white. Due to its blue-white color, it is also known as “Blue Cloud", and typically flowers between the months June and July.

Taxonomy

The species was brought to England by

Frederick Strange Frederick Strange (? – 1854) was a collector of plant and animal specimens during the early colonisation of Australia. Strange was apparently born in Aylsham, in Norfolk, England, tentatively given as 1826 by his earliest biographer although ...

, where it received notices in newspapers and began to be cultivated by nurseries.

William Jackson Hooker Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew he ...

gave a description of the new species as ''Nymphaea gigantea'' in

The Botanical Magazine ''The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed'', is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name ''Curtis's Botanical Magazine''. Each of the issue ...

, with an illustration detailing the flower and sections by

Walter Hood Fitch Walter Hood Fitch (28 February 1817 – 1892) was a botanical illustrator, born in Glasgow, Scotland, who executed some 10,000 drawings for various publications. His work in colour lithograph, including 2700 illustrations for ''Curtis's Bot ...

Description

The leaves of the ''N. gigantea'' are round and can grow out to 75 cm across and are sinuate and dentate. In botany, this means that their edges are toothed with pointed teeth, about 0.5 cm long. The apex of the lobes are rounded, however, the ''N. gigantea'' develop points in the space between the lobes from the rest of the leaf. The flowers are emergent, standing 50 cm above the water, and growing to about 25 cm across, although twelve inches (30 centimeters) has been recorded. These flowers have as many as 51 petals, and 750 stamens The leaves of ''N. gigantea'' lie on the water and are generally thick giving them a leathery feeling but are also brittle. The stigma is very dense with papillae, covering the dorsal surface of the carpels.

Distribution and Habitat

The seeds of ''N. gigantea'' are eaten by the Australians. In Australia, the tubers are collected and roasted by Aboriginal women. The buds and flower stalks are collected and eaten as well.''N. gigantea'' was first introduced in England in1852. Three years later in 1855, Van Houtte fruited the species. Since 1865, ''N. gigantea'' has been observed to flower during the summer months in water because that is the optimum condition for the tubers to germinate.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q150010 gigantea Flora of Australia Flora of New Guinea