| Nymphaea candida | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Order: | Nymphaeales |
| Family: | Nymphaeaceae |
| Genus: | Nymphaea |
| Subgenus: | Nymphaea subg. Nymphaea |
| Species: | N. candida |
| Binomial name | |
| Nymphaea candida | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
List
| |
Nymphaea candida is a species of perennial, aquatic, [2] rhizomatous herb [3] in the family Nymphaeaceae native to the region spanning from Europe to Siberia and Western Himalaya. [1]
Nymphaea candida is a perennial, aquatic, [2] rhizomatous herb [3] with unbranched, [4] 5 cm wide rhizomes. [5] The petiolate, stipulate, [3] oval to suborbicular floating leaf with an entire margin [5] and a deep basal sinus [6] is 10–30 cm long, and 25 cm wide. [5] The oblong submerged leaves have a thin lamina and short petioles. [3] The thick, terete, [3] smooth, [5] 30–100(–160) cm long petiole [7] has air canals. [3]
The bisexual, [7] actinomorphic, 5–15 cm wide flower [3] floats on the water surface. [4] The 4(–5) oblong to ovate-oblong sepals are 3.8 cm long, and 1.3 cm wide. The 12–20 white petals [5] are 3–5.5 cm long and show a gradual transition towards the stamens. [4] The petals decrease in size towards the centre of the flower. [6] The androecium consists of 32–70 stamens. [5] The gynoecium consists of 6–14 carpels. [8] The red or yellow stigmatic disk [6] is concave. [6] [9] [7] The green to red, ovoid to spherical, 1.9–4.4 cm wide fruit with persistent sepals bears ellipsoid, brown, arillate, [5] 4-6 mm long, [3] and 3-4 mm wide seeds. [6]
The chromosome count is 2n = 112, 160. [4] The genome size is 1936.44 Mb. [10]
The plant was described by Carl Borivoj Presl in 1882. [11] [12] However, sometimes both Carl Borivoj Presl and Jan Svatopluk Presl are credited as the taxon authors. [2] [3] Within the subgenus Nymphaea subg. Nymphaea it is placed in the section Nymphaea sect. Nymphaea. [13]
The specific epithet candida from the Latin candidus means pure white. [14]
It grows in the quiet freshwaters in Eurasia. The plant grows only in water, as it is an aquatic plant, mainly in ponds, lakes, and slow flowing streams. [15]
It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in water gardens. [9] [17]
