Nymphaea Stellata
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''Nymphaea nouchali'', often known by its
synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
''Nymphaea stellata'', or by
common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...
s blue lotus, star lotus, red water lily, dwarf aquarium lily, blue water lily, blue star water lily or manel flower, is a water lily of 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 southern and eastern parts of Asia, and is the national flower of
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
and
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. In
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
it is called ''utpala''. This species is usually considered to include the blue Egyptian lotus ''N. nouchali'' var. ''caerulea''. In the past, taxonomic confusion has occurred, with the name ''Nymphaea nouchali'' incorrectly applied to '' Nymphaea pubescens''.


Description

''N. nouchali'' is a day-blooming non-viviparous plant with submerged roots and stems. Part of the leaves are submerged, while others rise slightly above the surface. The leaves are round and green on top; they usually have a darker underside. The floating leaves have undulating edges that give them a crenellated appearance. Their size is about and their spread is up to from the rhizome. This water lily has a beautiful flower which is usually white or blue in color. Its variants occur in white, blue, violet, purple, pink & cream/yellowish white colours. The flower has four or five
sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...
s and 13-15
petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...
s that have an angular appearance, making the flower look star-shaped from above. The cup-like calyx has a diameter of .


Cytology

The chromosome count is n = 38 or n = 42. The genome size is 1193.16 Mb.


Taxonomy

It was first described by
Nicolaas Laurens Burman Nicolaas Laurens Burman (27 December 1734 – 11 September 1793) was a Dutch botanist. He was the son of Johannes Burman (1707–1780). He succeeded his father to the chair of botany at the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam., and at the Hortus Bot ...
in 1768. The species concept was significantly expanded by Bernard Verdcourt in 1989. Several species, namely '' Nymphaea caerulea'' , '' Nymphaea ovalifolia'' , '' Nymphaea colorata'' , and '' Nymphaea petersiana'' were merged into ''Nymphaea nouchali'' as new varieties. Additionally, two more varieties were described: ''Nymphaea nouchali'' var. ''mutandaensis'' Verdcourt, B. (1989)
Flora of Tropical East Africa - Nymphaeceae
(1989) (Vol. 128). CRC Press.
and ''Nymphaea nouchali'' var. ''versicolor'' published by Shashika Kumudumali Guruge and Deepthi Yakandawala in 2017.Guruge, S., Yakandawala, D., & Yakandawala, K. (2017). A taxonomic synopsis of ''Nymphaea nouchali'' Burm. f. and infraspecific taxa. Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka, 45(3). This broad circumscription of ''Nymphaea nouchali'' has been criticised as highly unnatural. '' Nymphaea petersiana'' turned out to be a member of the subgenus ''Nymphaea'' subg. ''Lotos'' and is therefore unrelated to ''Nymphaea nouchali''.Roestel, J. A., Wiersema, J. H., Jansen, R. K., Borsch, T., & Gruenstaeudl, M. (2024)
On the importance of sequence alignment inspections in plastid phylogenomics–an example from revisiting the relationships of the water‐lilies.
Cladistics.
Borsch, T., Hilu, K. W., Wiersema, J. H., Löhne, C., Barthlott, W., & Wilde, V. (2007)
Phylogeny of ''Nymphaea'' (Nymphaeaceae): evidence from substitutions and microstructural changes in the chloroplast trnT-trnF region.
International Journal of Plant Sciences, 168(5), 639-671.
Dkhar, J., Kumaria, S., Rao, S. R., & Tandon, P. (2010)
Molecular phylogenetics and taxonomic reassessment of four Indian representatives of the genus ''Nymphaea''.
Aquatic Botany, 93(2), 135-139.
''Nymphaea nouchali'' is placed in the subgenus ''Nymphaea'' subg. ''Brachyceras''.


Synonyms


Natural hybridisation

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


Distribution and habitat

This aquatic plant is native in a broad region from
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
, the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
, to
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, southeast Asia and Australia. It has been long valued as a garden flower in
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and
Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
to decorate ponds and gardens. In its natural state, ''N. nouchali'' is found in static or slow-flowing aquatic habitats of low to moderate depth.


Ecology

The leaves of the lily can be affected by a water-born fungi, '' Doassansiopsis nymphaea''.


Use


Symbolism

''N. nouchali'' is the national flower of
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
.Constitution Of The People's Republic Of Bangladesh
A pale blue-flowered ''N. nouchali'' is the national flower of
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
, where it is known as ''nil mānel'' or ''nil mahanel'' (). In Sri Lanka, this plant usually grows in buffalo ponds and natural
wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
. Its beautiful aquatic flower has been mentioned in
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
,
Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...
, and Sinhala literary works since ancient times under the names ''kuvalaya'', ''indhīwara'', ''niluppala'', ''nilothpala'', and ''nilupul'' as a symbol of virtue, discipline, and purity.
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
lore in Sri Lanka claims that this flower was one of the 108 auspicious signs found on Prince Siddhartha's footprint. It is said that when Buddha died, lotus flowers blossomed everywhere he had walked in his lifetime. Claire Waight Keller included the plant to represent Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Meghan Markle's wedding veil, which included the distinctive flora of each
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
country. ''N. nouchali'' might have been one of the plants eaten by the
Lotophagi In Greek mythology, lotophages or the lotus-eaters () were a race of people living on an island dominated by the lotus tree off coastal Tunisia (Island of Djerba), a plant whose botanical identity is uncertain. The Lotophagi race in the ''Ody ...
of
Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
's ''
Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...
''.


Horticulture

''N. nouchali'' is used as an ornamental plant because of its spectacular flowers, and is most commonly used for the traditional and cultural festivals in Sri Lanka. It is also popular as an aquarium plant under the name "dwarf lily" or "dwarf red lily". Sometimes, it is grown for its flowers, while other aquarists prefer to trim the lily pads, and just have the underwater foliage.


Herbal medicine

''N. nouchali'' is considered a medicinal plant in Indian Ayurvedic medicine under the name ''ambal''; it was mainly used to treat indigestion.


Food

Like all water lilies, its pear-shaped, brown cottony-covered, potato-sized
rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...
s, leaves and most of the plant are poisonous, and contain an
alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...
called nupharin. Unlike European species, this can (and must) be neutralised in the rhizomes of this species by boiling. In India these have been eaten as a
famine food A famine food or poverty food is any inexpensive or ready available food used to nourish people in times of hunger and starvation, whether caused by extreme poverty, such as during economic depression or war, or by natural disasters such as dro ...
or as a medicinal. In
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
it was eaten roasted. In
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
it was formerly eaten as a type of medicine and its price was too high to serve as a normal meal, but in the 1940s some villagers began to cultivate the water lilies in the paddy fields left uncultivated during the
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
season (Yala season), and the price dropped. It is eaten boiled and in curries. The
tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduc ...
s of this species are completely edible, during the
dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...
they consist almost entirely of starch, and were eaten in
West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
, usually boiled or roasted. The dried plant is collected from ponds, tanks, and marshes during the dry season and used in India as animal
forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...
.


Heraldry

Blason Antoine Dubois (1756-1837).svg, The emblem of
surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...
and
obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...
to
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
,
Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...
Antoine Dubois, (1756–1837). Cyril Newall Arms.svg, Personal coat of arms of Cyril Newall, 1st Baron Newall (1946) National emblem of Bangladesh.svg, National Emblem of Bangladesh (1972–present)


See also

*'' Nymphaea caerulea'', the Egyptian blue lotus or sacred blue lily *'' Nymphaea lotus'', the white lotus or Egyptian white water lily *''
Nelumbo nucifera ''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as the pink lotus, sacred lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant taxon, extant species of aquatic plant in the Family (biology), family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a ...
'', the Indian lotus, sacred lotus *
List of freshwater aquarium plant species Aquatic plants are used to give the freshwater aquarium a natural appearance, oxygenate the water, absorb ammonia, and provide Habitat (ecology), habitat for fish, especially Fry (biology), fry (babies) and for invertebrates. Some aquarium fish a ...


References


External links


Neel kamal (blue waterlily) in Indian culture
''on Biodiversity of India portal''. * Taxon: ''Nymphaea stellata'' Willd. - Synonym of ''Nymphaea nouchali'' Burm. f. *Perry D. Slocum: ''Waterlilies and Lotuses''. Timber Press 2005,
restricted online version at Google Books


{{Taxonbar, from=Q2663639 Freshwater plants nouchali Plants described in 1768 Flora of Africa Flora of tropical Asia Flora of Australia National symbols of Bangladesh National symbols of Sri Lanka Taxa named by Nicolaas Laurens Burman