''Nymphaea mexicana'' is a species of aquatic plant that is native to the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

as far south as Michoacán. Common names include yellow water lily, Mexican water lily and banana water lily.

Role as invasive species

''Nymphaea mexicana'' is perhaps best known as a noxious weed in

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s outside of its native range, such as

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It can easily invade similar aquatic ecosystems when it is introduced. The plant is attractive and has been introduced to new habitats for ornamental purposes.

Description

''Nymphaea mexicana'' has thick rhizomes and long, spongy creeping stolons which bear bunches of small yellow roots that resemble miniature bananas. The plant can grow from seedlings or send out new shoots from its stolons. The large, flat leaves are green with purple or brown patterning, and float on the surface of the water. The floating lotus flowers have yellow petals and pointed, star-like, greenish-yellow

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 coine ...

s. The flowers close at night.Flora of North America, ''Nymphaea mexicana'' Zuccarini, 1832.Banana water-lily, yellow water-lily, herbe au coeur
/ref> The plant flowers during the summer, and also during spring and fall in warmer areas. Seeds are contained in green berries which grow underwater. It grows in

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

es and readily invades

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

s and other shallow waterways, sometimes becoming a nuisance.

Cytology

The chromosome count is n = 28. The genome size is 586.80 Mb.Chen, F., Liu, X., Yu, C., Chen, Y., Tang, H., & Zhang, L. (2017)
"Water lilies as emerging models for Darwin’s abominable mystery."
Horticulture research, 4.

Ecology

Herbivory

The

Canvasback The canvasback (''Aythya valisineria'') is a species of diving duck, the largest found in North America. Taxonomy Scottish-American naturalist Alexander Wilson described the canvasback in 1814. The genus name is derived from Greek ''aithuia'', ...

duck, ''Aythya valisineria'', feeds on the banana-like roots of the plant.

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile
*
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
mexicana Plants described in 1832 Freshwater plants Flora of the Southern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of Mexico {{angiosperm-stub