''Nymphaea lukei'' is a species of waterlily endemic to Western Australia.

Description

Vegetative characteristics

''Nymphaea lukei'' is an annual or perennial aquatic plant with globose, 2-2.5 cm wide rhizomes. The

elliptic In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special type of ellipse in ...

, petiolate, 9.7–28 long, and 7.2–25 wide leaves have a sinuate margin.

Generative characteristics

The fragrant flowers extend up to 30 cm above the water surface. The green sepals with blue margins towards the acute apex are 3.5–6.5 cm long, and 0.5–2.5 cm wide. The 15-30 white to blue, lanceolate petals are 3–6 cm long, and 1.3–2 cm wide. The androecium consists of 75–250 yellow stamens. The gynoecium consists of 16–30 carpels. The globose, 1.5–3 cm long, and 1.5–2.5 cm wide fruit bears elongated, 2.1–2.5 mm long, and 1.8–1.9 mm wide seeds with 0.03–0.06 mm long trichomes, and verrucose projections.

Reproduction

Generative reproduction

Flowering occurs towards the end of the wet season, and continues within the dry season.

Taxonomy

Publication

It was first described by

Surrey Wilfrid Laurance Jacobs Surrey Wilfrid Laurance Jacobs (born 29 April 1946 in Sydney - died 26 November 2009) was an Australian botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, thei ...

and Carl Barre Hellquist in 2011.

Type specimen

The type specimen was collected by S. Jacobs in Dampier, Western Australia on the 2nd of May 2008.Jacobs, S. W., & Hellquist, C. B. (2011)
"New species, possible hybrids and intergrades in Australian ''Nymphaea'' (Nymphaeaceae) with a key to all species."
Telopea, 13(1-2), 233-243.

Placement within ''Nymphaea''

It is placed in ''Nymphaea'' subgenus ''Confluentes''.Dalziell, E. L. (2016)
"Seed biology and ex situ storage behaviour of Australian ''Nymphaea'' (water lilies): implications for conservation (Doctoral dissertation, PhD thesis. University of Western Australia, Perth, WA)."
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Etymology

The specific epithet ''lukei'' is named after Luke Jaden Fussell, the grandson of Surrey Wilfrid Laurance Jacobs.

Ecology

Habitat

It occurs in pools, creeks, and rivers.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17253349 lukei Flora of Australia Endemic flora of Australia Flora of Western Australia Plants described in 2011