''Nuphar orbiculata'' is a species of rhizomatous aquatic plant native to the US-American states Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.

Description

Vegetative characteristics

''Nuphar orbiculata'' is a herbaceous, perennial, aquatic plant.Small, J. K. (1896). Studies in the Botany of the Southeastern United States.-V. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 23(4). http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/openurl?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_id=http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/711509&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:book&url_ver=z39.88-2004 The rhizomes are 7-8 cm wide.''Nuphar orbiculata'' in Flora of North America @ efloras.org. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2024, from http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500816 The petiolate, bright green, orbicular leaves are 20-45 cm long, and 20-45 cm wide. The abaxial surface is pubescent. The petioles are pubescent.

Generative characteristics

The flowers are 6 cm wide. The oblong-obovate sepals are 5 cm long. The stigmatic disk is 2 cm wide. The subglobose, 4-5 cm wide fruit bears ovoid, 4.5 mm long, ridged seeds.

Reproduction

Generative reproduction

Flowering and fruiting occurs in July.

Taxonomy

Publication

It was first described as ''Nymphaea orbiculata'' Small by

John Kunkel Small John Kunkel Small (January 31, 1869 – January 20, 1938) was an American botanist. He studied plants in the southeastern United States and wrote a book about the deterioration of habitats in Florida. Early life and education Small was born on ...

in 1896. Later, it was included in the genus ''Nuphar'' Sm. as ''Nuphar orbiculata'' (Small) Standl. published by

Paul Carpenter Standley Paul Carpenter Standley (March 21, 1884 – June 2, 1963) was an American botanist known for his work on neotropical plants. Biography Standley was born on March 21, 1884, in Avalon, Missouri. He attended Drury College in Springfield, Missouri, ...

in 1931.

Etymology

The specific epithet ''orbiculata'' means round or disc-shaped.Burnham, R. J. (2013, May 29). ''Celastrus orbiculatus'' , CLIMBERS. Retrieved January 19, 2024, from https://climbers.lsa.umich.edu/celastrus-orbiculatus/''Cotyledon orbiculata'' , PlantZAfrica. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2024, from https://pza.sanbi.org/cotyledon-orbiculataBayton, R. (2020). Practical Uses of Botanical Latin. In The Gardener's Botanical: An Encyclopedia of Latin Plant Names - with More than 5,000 Entries (pp. 22-318). Princeton: Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691209135-007

Conservation

The

NatureServe conservation status The NatureServe conservation status system, maintained and presented by NatureServe in cooperation with the Natural Heritage Network, was developed in the United States in the 1980s by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) as a means for ranking or categor ...

is T3 Vulnerable.

Ecology

Habitat

It occurs in stagnant waters of blackwater rivers, streams, lakes,''Nuphar orbiculata'' Aquatic Vegetation. (n.d.). NatureServe. Retrieved January 19, 2024, from https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688105/Nuphar_orbiculata_Aquatic_Vegetation and acidic lime sink ponds.''Nuphar orbiculata'' - Species Page - APA: Alabama Plant Atlas. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2024, from http://www.floraofalabama.org/Plant.aspx?id=2703

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q19848604 orbiculata Flora of Florida Flora of Georgia (U.S. state) Flora of Alabama Flora of the United States Endemic flora of the United States Plants described in 1896