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Nymphaea



Nymphaea

Nymphaea alba
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Nymphaeales
Family: Nymphaeaceae
Genus: Nymphaea
Species

About 50 species, including:
Nymphaea alba - European White Water-lily
Nymphaea amazonum
Nymphaea ampla
Nymphaea blanda
Nymphaea caerulea - Egyptian Blue Water-lily
Nymphaea calliantha
Nymphaea candida
Nymphaea capensis - Cape Blue Water-lily
Nymphaea citrina
Nymphaea colorata
Nymphaea elegans
Nymphaea fennica
Nymphaea flavovirens
Nymphaea gardneriana
Nymphaea gigantea - Australian Water-lily
Nymphaea heudelotii
Nymphaea jamesoniana
Nymphaea lotus - Egyptian White Water-lily
Nymphaea lotus termalis
Nymphaeae lutea - Yellow water-lily or Brandy bottle
Nymphaea macrosperma - Native to Australia's Top End
Nymphaea mexicana - Yellow Water-lily
Nymphaea micrantha
Nymphaea odorata - Fragrant Water-lily
Nymphaea pubescens
Nymphaea rubra - India Red Water-lily
Nymphaea rudgeana
Nymphaea stellata - Blue Water-lily (National flower of Sri Lanka)
Nymphaea stuhlmannii
Nymphaea sulfurea
Nymphaea tetragona - Pygmy Water-lily

Nymphaea is a genus of aquatic plants in the family Nymphaeaceae. There are about 50 species in the genus, which has a cosmopolitan distribution.

Contents

Name

The common name, shared with some other genera in the same family, is water-lily or waterlily.

The name Nymphaea comes from the Greek term "Νυμφαία", posibly related to "Νύμφη" meaning "nymph". The nymphs in Greek mythology were supernatural feminine beings associated with springs, so the application of the name to delicately flowered aquatic plants is understandable.

Description

Nymphaea leaves have a radial notch from the circumference to the petiole (leaf stem) in the center.

Classification

Despite their name, water-lilies are not related to the true lilies (family Liliaceae). The name "lily" is applied to a number of plants that are not at all closely related, such as day lilies, spider lilies and arum lilies, in addition to the water lilies. Nymphaea (Egyptian lotuses) are also not related to the Chinese and Indian lotus of genus Nelumbo, which are used in Asian cooking and sacred to Hinduism and Buddhism.

However, the genus Nymphaea is closely related to Nuphar, another genus commonly called "lotus". In Nymphaea, the flower petals are much larger than the sepals, whereeas in Nuphar the petals are much smaller than its sepals. The fruit maturation also differs, with Nymphaea fruit sinking below the water level immediately after the flower closes, whereas Nuphar fruit are held above water level to maturity. Both genera share leaves with a radial notch from the circumference to the petiole (leaf stem) in the center.

Cultural significance

  The ancient Egyptians revered the Nile water-lilies, or lotuses as they were also called. The lotus motif is a frequent feature of temple column architecture.

The Egyptian Blue Water-lily, N. caerulea, opens its flowers in the morning and then sinks beneath the water at dusk, while the Egyptian White Water-lily, N. lotus, flowers at night and closes in the morning. This symbolizes the Egyptian separation of deities and is a motif associated with Egyptian beliefs concerning death and the afterlife. The recent discovery of psychedelic properties of the blue lotus may also have been known to the Egyptians and explain its ceremonial role. Remains of both flowers have been found in the burial tomb of Ramesses II.

The French painter Claude Monet is famous for his paintings of water lilies.

Cultivation

Many of the water-lilies familiar in water gardening are hybrids.


Gallery

 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Nymphaea". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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