Euryale ferox | |
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Flowering Euryale ferox cultivated in the Botanischer Garten Berlin-Dahlem | |
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Botanical illustration of Euryale ferox from Curtis's Botanical Magazine (1812). | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Order: | Nymphaeales |
Family: | Nymphaeaceae |
Genus: | Euryale Salisb. |
Species: | E. ferox |
Binomial name | |
Euryale ferox | |
Synonyms [2] | |
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Euryale ferox, commonly known as prickly waterlily, [3] makhana, or Gorgon plant, is a species of water lily found in southern and eastern Asia, and the only extant member of the genus Euryale. The edible seeds, called fox nuts or makhana, are dried, [a] and eaten predominantly in Asia.
It was published by Richard Anthony Salisbury in 1805. It is a member of the water lily family Nymphaeaceae. [2] It is the type species of its genus. [4] The placement in a separate family Euryalaceae J.Agardh, which was proposed by Jacob Georg Agardh in 1858, [5] [6] has been rejected. [6] [7] Unlike other water lilies, the pollen grains of Euryale have three nuclei. [8]
The genus is named after a mythical Greek Gorgon, Euryale. [9] The specific epithet ferox means fierce or ferocious. [10]
Euryaleferox is a perennial plant native to eastern Asia and southern Asia, and is found from northeast India [b] to Korea and Japan, as well as parts of Pakistan and eastern Russia.
Recently, it has also been recorded in Serbia, Europe. It was probably dispersed to Serbia through migrating birds. [11]
Euryale ferox grows in fresh water ponds, producing flowers with white inner petals and violet outer petals. The leaves are large, round and peltate, often more than a meter (3 feet) across, with a leaf stalk attached in the centre of the lower surface. The leaves are deep green; the leaf veins are purplish. The stems and leaves are covered in sharp prickles. It can be grown in shallow water or rich soil. It does not tolerate shade or cold. [12] [13]
Self pollination can occur. Pollen is released before the flower opens. [14] The majority of Euryale ferox flowers are cleistogamous, not opening for cross-pollination, though some normally-opening (chasmogamous) flowers do occur. [15]
The chromosome count is n = 29. The genome size is 870.42 Mb. [16] The chloroplast genome is 159930 bp long. [17]
Fox nuts have traditionally been harvested by diving without breathing equipment to a depth of 8 feet (2.4 m) in freshwater ponds. This is arduous, with skin hazards from mud and the plant's thorns. In the 21st century, the National Research Centre for Makhana has pioneered the plant's cultivation in fields flooded to a depth of 1 foot (0.30 m) which makes production and harvesting easier. The area of land devoted to fox nut production has increased to 87,000 acres (35,000 ha) by 2022. The centre has developed a more productive variety, increasing farm income, and is designing a harvesting machine. [18]
The plant produces starchy white seeds that are edible. The plant is cultivated for its seeds [19] in lowland ponds in India, China, and Japan. The Chinese have cultivated the plant for centuries. [20] In India, more than 96,000 hectares of Bihar, where it is called Mithila Makhana, were set aside for cultivation of Euryale in 1990–1991. [9] Bihar produces 90% of the world's fox nuts. [19] In the northern and western parts of India, Euryale ferox seeds are often roasted or fried, which causes them to pop like popcorn. [21] These are then eaten, often with a sprinkling of oil and spices. They are also used in other types of cooking, especially to make a porridge or pudding called kheer. [13] The seeds are used in Cantonese soup, [22] in Ayurveda preparations, and in traditional Chinese medicine. [19]
Evidence from archaeobotany indicates that Euryale ferox was a frequently collected wild food source during the Neolithic period in the Yangtze region, with many finds from the sites of Kuahuqiao, Hemudu, and Tianluoshan. [23] The earliest recorded use of E. feroxis from Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel, among artifacts of the Acheulean culture 750–790,000 years ago. [24]
It is classified on the Red List of endangered plants in Japan and given the designation "vulnerable". [15] [25] It is classified as species of Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. [1] However, a population decline on the global scale has been reported. [15] It is classified as vulnerable (VU) in South Korea. [26]
The Nymphaeales are an order of flowering plants, consisting of three families of aquatic plants, the Hydatellaceae, the Cabombaceae, and the Nymphaeaceae. It is one of the three orders of basal angiosperms, an early-diverging grade of flowering plants. At least 10 morphological characters unite the Nymphaeales. One of the traits is the absence of a vascular cambium, which is required to produce both xylem (wood) and phloem, which therefore are missing. Molecular synapomorphies are also known.
Nymphaeaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly called water lilies. They live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains five genera with about 70 known species. Water lilies are rooted in soil in bodies of water, with leaves and flowers floating on or rising from the surface. Leaves are oval and heart-shaped in Barclaya. Leaves are round, with a radial notch in Nymphaea and Nuphar, but fully circular in Victoria and Euryale.
Victoria or giant waterlily is a genus of aquatic herbs in the plant family Nymphaeaceae. Its leaves have a remarkable size: Victoria boliviana produces leaves up to 3.2 metres (10 ft) in width. The genus name was given in honour of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
Nymphaea is a genus of 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 taxa occur as introduced species where they are not native, and some are weeds. Plants of the genus are known commonly as water lilies, or waterlilies in the United Kingdom. The genus name is from the Greek νυμφαία, nymphaia and the Latin nymphaea, which means "water lily" and were inspired by the nymphs of Greek and Latin mythology.
Nymphaea alba, the white waterlily, European white water lily or white nenuphar, is an aquatic flowering plant in the family Nymphaeaceae. It is native to North Africa, temperate Asia, Europe and tropical Asia.
Victoria amazonica is a species of flowering plant, the second largest in the water lily family Nymphaeaceae. It is called Vitória-Régia or Iaupê-Jaçanã in Brazil and Atun Sisac in Inca (Quechua). Its native region is tropical South America, specifically Guyana and the Amazon Basin.
Nuphar is a genus of aquatic plants in the family Nymphaeaceae, with a temperate to subarctic Northern Hemisphere distribution. Common names include water-lily, pond-lily, alligator-bonnet or bonnet lily, and spatterdock.
Qian shi may refer to:
Nuphar lutea, the yellow water-lily, brandy-bottle, or spadderdock, is an aquatic plant of the family Nymphaeaceae, native to northern temperate and some subtropical regions of Europe, northwest Africa, and western Asia. This species was used as a food source and in medicinal practices from prehistoric times with potential research and medical applications going forward.
Nuphar variegata is a plant in the water lily family, Nymphaeaceae. It is native to much of Canada and the northernmost of the United States.
Nymphaea macrosperma is an annual or perennial, aquatic, rhizomatous herb in the family Nymphaeaceae native to Australia and New Guinea.
Euryale is a genus of flowering plants of the family Nymphaeaceae.
Nuphar sagittifolia, common name arrow-leaved water-lily or Cape Fear spatterdock, is a plant species known only from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Nymphaea tetragona is an aquatic perennial, species of flowering plant commonly called pygmy waterlily and small white water lily, belonging to the family Nymphaeaceae.
Mithila Makhana is a special variety of aquatic fox nut cultivated in Mithila region of Bihar state in India and in Nepal.
Victoria boliviana, or the Bolivian waterlily is a species of aquatic plant within the genus Victoria in the family Nymphaeaceae. It is the newest described species of the genus and its largest member in size and was officially identified in 2022. In January 2023, the species was awarded three Guinness World Record titles for world's largest waterlily species, world's largest waterlily leaf and world's largest undivided leaf, with the latter two specifically recognising a specimen grown in 2012 at La Rinconada Gardens in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
Nymphaea conardii is a species of waterlily native to the region spanning from Southern Mexico to tropical South America.
Nymphaea pygmaea is a controversial species of perennial, aquatic herb in the family Nymphaeaceae native to Asia.
Nymphaea sect. Chamaenymphaea is a section within the subgenus Nymphaea subg. Nymphaea of the genus Nymphaea native to North America, Asia, and Europe.
Euryale yunnanensis is a fossil species of Euryale from the Late Miocene of Yunnan, China.