''Nymphaea micrantha'' is a water lily belonging to the genus ''

Nymphaea ''Nymphaea'' () is a genus of hardiness (plants), hardy and tender aquatic plants in the family Nymphaeaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. Many species are cultivated as ornamental plants, and many cultivars have been bred. Some ta ...

''. It is native to the tropics of West Africa.

Description

Its leaves are oval or round, 8-12 cm long, with a cluster of

bulbils A bulbil (also referred to as a bulbel, bulblet, and/or pup) is a small, young plant that is reproduced vegetatively from axillary buds on the parent plant's stem or in place of a flower on an inflorescence. These young plants are clones of the ...

on the top of the leaf stalk. Flowers can reach up to 10 cm in diameter, and appear from approximately September to October. The plant usually grows to a height of 20–80 cm (8–32 inches). It cannot be grown .

Reproduction

Vegetative reproduction

New plantlets develop on the adaxial leaf surface through foliar proliferation. The development of those plantlets is halted, while the leaf is still attached. However, once the leaf is detached the plantlets develop fully. In India, which is outside of this species natural range, it has been shown that ''Nymphaea micrantha'' predominantly reproduces asexually. In India it has been shown to lack any amount of genetic diversity.

Cytology

The chromosome count is n = 14. The genome size is 889.98 Mb.

Taxonomy

Publication

It was first described by

Jean Baptiste Antoine Guillemin Jean Baptiste Antoine Guillemin (20 January 1796 in Pouilly-sur-Saône – 15 January 1842 in Montpellier) was a French botanist. He studied at the municipal college in Seurre, where he was considered one of the most distinguished pupils. ...

and

George Samuel Perrottet George Samuel Perrottet (23 February 1790 – 13 January 1870, Puducherry (city), Pondicherry), also known as Georges Guerrard-Samuel Perrottet, was a botanist and horticulturalist from Praz, in the commune of Vully-le-Bas, today Mont-Vully, Swit ...

in 1831.

Natural hybridisation

Together with ''Nymphaea nouchali'' var. ''caerulea'', ''Nymphaea micrantha'' forms the natural hybrid ''Nymphaea'' × ''daubenyana'' native to Chad.

Etymology

The specific epithet ''micrantha'', from the Greek ''mikros'' meaning small and ''anthos'' meaning flower, means small-flowered.''Jamesbrittenia micrantha'' , CasaBio. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16, 2024, from https://casabio.org/taxa/jamesbrittenia-micrantha''Libertia micrantha''. (n.d.). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved January 16, 2024, from https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/libertia-micrantha/''Bridelia micrantha'' , PlantZAfrica. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16, 2024, from https://pza.sanbi.org/bridelia-micrantha

Uses

Food source

Seeds of ''

Nymphaea lotus ''Nymphaea lotus'', the white Egyptian lotus, tiger lotus, white lotus, or Egyptian water-lily, is a flowering plant of the family Nymphaeaceae. Distribution It grows in various parts of East Africa and Southeast Asia. ''Nymphaea lotus'' var. ' ...

'' and ''Nymphaea micrantha'' are eaten in Senegal.

References

External links

micrantha Flora of West Tropical Africa {{angiosperm-stub