| Nymphaea pubescens | |
|---|---|
 | |
| water lily (Nymphaea pubescens) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Order: | Nymphaeales |
| Family: | Nymphaeaceae |
| Genus: | Nymphaea |
| Subgenus: | Nymphaea subg. Lotos |
| Species: | N. pubescens |
| Binomial name | |
| Nymphaea pubescens | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
Nymphaea pubescens, the hairy water lily or pink water-lily, is a species of water lily.
 | This section needs additional citations for verification .(May 2021) |
Nymphaea pubescens is an annual [3] or perennial, [3] [4] rhizomatous, [3] aquatic herb [5] with erect, stoloniferous, [6] tuberous, up to 8 cm long rhizomes [3] bearing slim stolons. [6] The petiolate, ovate, elliptic, suborbicular, [7] orbicular, or sagittate leaves [8] with a dentate margin [6] are 15–40 cm long, and 12–35 cm wide. [7] The abaxial leaf surface is pubescent. [3] [6]
The flowers are quite large, about 15 cm in diameter when fully open. They tend to close during the daytime and open wide at night. Their color varies from white to pink, mauve or purple depending from the variety or hybrid.
It was published by Carl Ludwig Willdenow in 1799. [2] It is placed in Nymphaea subg. Lotos. [9]
The specific epithet pubescens means with soft short hairs. [10] [11]
This plant is common in shallow lakes and ponds throughout temperate and tropical Asia: Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Yunnan, Taiwan, Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.[ citation needed ]
It is also found in northeastern Australia and Papua New Guinea. [12]
The hairy water lily is found both as a cultivated plant as well as in the wild. It prefers non-acidic waters and it does not tolerate temperatures below 15 °C.[ citation needed ]
The hairy water lily is also commercialized as an aquarium plant. The underwater leaves of this species have a handsome appearance that is appreciated by aquarists who often remove the floating leaves to keep it as a fully subaquatic plant. [13]
| | This section needs additional citations for verification .(May 2021) |
The hairy water lily is known kokaa in Hindi and Kumuda in Sanskrit. [14]
