Nymphaea mexicana is a species of aquatic plant that is native to the Southern United States and Mexico as far south as Michoacán.[3][4] Common names include yellow water lily, Mexican water lily and banana water lily.
| Nymphaea mexicana | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Order: | Nymphaeales |
| Family: | Nymphaeaceae |
| Genus: | Nymphaea |
| Species: | N. mexicana
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| Binomial name | |
| Nymphaea mexicana | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Role as invasive species
editNymphaea mexicana is perhaps best known as a noxious weed in wetlands outside of its native range, such as California. 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.[citation needed]
Description
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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 sepals. The flowers close at night.[5]
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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 marshes and readily invades canals and other shallow waterways, sometimes becoming a nuisance.
Taxonomy
editPublication
editIt was published by Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini in 1832.[2] It is placed in the subgenus Nymphaea subg. Nymphaea.[6]
Cytology
editThe chromosome count is n = 28. The genome size is 586.80 Mb.[7] The chloroplast genome is 159962 bp long.[8]
Reproduction
editVegetative reproduction
editNymphaea mexicana reproduces vegetatively through stolons. Their structure, resembling bananas, consists of leaf buds and thick, starchy roots.[9]
Conservation
editThe NatureServe conservation status is Vulnerable (G3).[1]
Ecology
editHerbivory
editThe canvasback duck, Aythya valisineria, feeds on the banana-like roots of the plant.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b Nymphaea mexicana. (n.d.). NatureServe. Retrieved February 9, 2024, from https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.136017/Nymphaea_mexicana
- ^ a b "Nymphaea mexicana Zucc". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ "Nymphaea mexicana". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
- ^ Flora of North America, Nymphaea mexicana Zuccarini, 1832. Banana water-lily, yellow water-lily, herbe au coeur
- ^ Pellicer, J., Kelly, L. J., Magdalena, C., & Leitch, I. J. (2013). Insights into the dynamics of genome size and chromosome evolution in the early diverging angiosperm lineage Nymphaeales (water lilies). Genome, 56(8), 437-449.
- ^ Chen, Fei; Liu, Xing; Yu, Cuiwei; Chen, Yuchu; Tang, Haibao; Zhang, Liangsheng (2017). "Water lilies as emerging models for Darwin's abominable mystery". Horticulture Research. 4: 17051. doi:10.1038/hortres.2017.51. PMC 5626932. PMID 28979789.
- ^ Gruenstaeudl, M., Nauheimer, L., & Borsch, T. (2017). Plastid genome structure and phylogenomics of Nymphaeales: conserved gene order and new insights into relationships. Plant systematics and evolution, 303, 1251-1270.
- ^ Wiersema, J. H. (1988). Reproductive Biology of Nymphaea (Nymphaeaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 75(3), 795–804. https://doi.org/10.2307/2399367
- ^ Mowbray, Thomas B. (2020-03-04). "Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)". Birds of the World. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
External links
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Media related to Nymphaea mexicana at Wikimedia Commons
- USDA Plants Profile
- Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- California Department of Food and Agriculture
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