''Nymphaea belophylla'' is a species of waterlily native to Bolivia, Brazil and Venezuela.
Description
Vegetative characteristics
''Nymphaea belophylla'' is an aquatic herb.Pellegrini, M. O. O. & Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. (n.d.-a). ''Nymphaea belophylla'' Trickett. Flora E Funga Do Brasil. Retrieved December 3, 2023, from https://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/FB139872 It has subglobose tubers, which are not
stolon
In biology, a stolon ( from Latin ''wikt:stolo, stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as a runner, is a horizontal connection between parts of an organism. It may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton. Typically, animal ...
iferous. The green, elliptic-sagittate leaves with an acute apex are up to 30 cm long and 11 cm wide. The 4-5 mm wide, non-brittle, green petiole is glabrous.
Generative characteristics
The flowers of ''Nymphaea belophylla'' are floating and nocturnal. The glabrous, green, non-brittle peduncle is up to 5 mm wide. In the original publication, the flowers are describes as inodorous. In others, the floral fragrance described as sweet and fruity, or as unpleasant and almond-like.Wiersema, J. H. (1987). A monograph of ''Nymphaea'' subgenus ''Hydrocallis'' (Nymphaeaceae). Systematic Botany Monographs, 1-112. The smooth, pilose, ellipsoid seeds exhibit trichomes arranged in continuous longitudinal lines. The seeds are 0.9 mm wide and 0.75 mm wide. The trichomes are 35-90 μm long.
Cytology
The chromosome count is not known.
Reproduction
Vegetative reproduction
Stolons and proliferating pseudanthia are absent.de Lima, C. T., Machado, I. C., & Giulietti, A. M. (2021) "Nymphaeaceae of Brasil." Sitientibus série Ciências Biológicas, 21.
Habitat
In one instance, it has been found growing in flooded grassland savanna at water depths of 110 cm beneath ''
Tabebuia aurea
''Tabebuia aurea'' is a species of ''Tabebuia'' native to South America in Suriname, Brazil, eastern Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, and northern Argentina. The common English name Caribbean trumpet tree is misleading, as it is not native to the Caribbe ...
'' trees. In another case, it was observed growing in floodplains at water depths of 1.5-2m among the grass species ''
Oryza rufipogon
''Oryza rufipogon'' is a species of flowering plant in the family ''Poaceae''. It is known as brownbeard rice, wild rice, and red rice. In 1965, ''Oryza nivara'' was separated off from ''O. rufipogon''. The separation has been questioned, a ...
Pantanal
The Pantanal () is a natural region encompassing the world's largest tropical wetland area, and the world's largest Flooded grasslands and savannas, flooded grasslands. It is located mostly within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but i ...
, where it can occur sympatrically with ''
Nymphaea oxypetala
''Nymphaea oxypetala'' is a species of waterlily native to Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Venezuela. It is a remarkable species with excessively acuminate and
acute sepals and petals. it is found in floodplains and rivers.Damasceno-Junior, G. A., & Pott, A. (2022) "Flora and vegetation of the Pantanal Wetland." p. 241. Springer Nature.
Taxonomy
It was first described by Trickett in 1971 based on plant material cultivated at the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...
. The plants had been introduced to cultivation by Amanda Bleher from a specimen collected in Guaporé River, Brazil.''Nymphaea belophylla'' , International Plant Names Index. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2023, from https://www.ipni.org/n/171170-2
holotype
A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...
was later found again. The isotype could still not be located.
The species name is derived from the Greek βέλος meaning arrow or dart,Robert S. Trickett. (1971). A New Tropical American Waterlily, ''Nymphaea belophylla''. Kew Bulletin, 26(1), 29–31. https://doi.org/10.2307/4117321 and -''phylla'' referring to the leaves. It references the strongly pointed, arrow-shaped leaves.