Nymphaea thermarum

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Nymphaea thermarum
Nymphaea thermarum-IMG 5505.jpg
Interiors of Kew Gardens Water Lily House - Nymphaea thermarum P1170619.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Order: Nymphaeales
Family: Nymphaeaceae
Genus: Nymphaea
Subgenus: Nymphaea subg. Brachyceras
Species:
N. thermarum
Binomial name
Nymphaea thermarum
Rwanda in its region.svg
Nymphaea thermarum is endemic to Rwanda [2] [1]

Nymphaea thermarum is a species of water lily that is endemic to Rwanda. Once thought to be extinct in the wild, all wild plants were believed to be lost due to destruction of its native habitat, but it was thought to be saved from extinction when it was grown from seed at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 2009. [3] [4] A previously-unknown wild population was discovered in 2023. [5]

Contents

Taxonomy

Nymphaea thermarum was discovered in 1987 by German botanist Eberhard Fischer. The specific epithet, thermarum, refers to the hot spring and temperature that provided its native habitat. There are no common names for the plant, though Kew Gardens is informally calling it "pygmy Rwandan water lily". [6] [7]

Within the genus Nymphaea it is placed within Nymphaea subgen. Brachyceras. [8] [9]

Cytology

The diploid chromosome count is 2n = 28. The genome size is 498.78 Mb. [8]

Description

This is the world's smallest water lily species; the pads (leaves) of N. thermarum can measure only 1 cm (0.39 in) across, less than 10% the width of the next smallest species in the genus Nymphaea (though they are more usually about 2 cm (0.79 in) or 3 cm (1.2 in)). [10] By comparison, the largest water lily, Victoria amazonica , has pads that can reach 3 m (9.8 ft). Nymphaea thermarum forms rosettes 20 to 30 cm (7.9 to 11.8 in) wide, with bright green lily pads growing on short petioles. The very small flowers are white with yellow stamens, with the flowers held upright a few centimeters above the plant.

Breeding

They can self-pollinate, and after blooming the flower stalk bends so the fruit contacts the mud. [6] The fruit contains 300 to 400 seeds. [11] The sepals are slightly hairy, and as large as the flower's petals. The plant is a tropical day bloomer displaying protogynous flowering patterns, opening early in the morning on the first day with female floral functioning, closing in early afternoon, and opening on the second day with male functionality. [12] It is in the Nymphaea subgenus Brachyceras, though the leaves are more typical of the subgenus Nymphaea. It apparently does not form tubers. Seeds are large for plants in subgenus Brachyceras. [4] The lifespan of Nymphaea thermarum can be greater than 10 years. [13]

Conservation

The plant's native habitat was damp mud formed by the overflow of a freshwater hot spring in Mashyuza, southwest Rwanda. It was thought to have become extinct in the wild around 2008, when local farmers began using the spring for agriculture. [14] The farmers cut off the flow of the spring, which dried up the tiny area—just a few square metres—that was believed to be the entire habitat. [6] Before the extinction of the first known population, Fischer sent some specimens to Bonn Botanic Gardens in Germany when he saw that their habitat was fragile. The plants were kept alive at the gardens, but botanists could not solve the problem of propagating them from seed. [15]

The first published occurrence of N. thermarum germination was by Carlos Magdalena, at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. [4] By placing the seeds and seedlings into pots of loam surrounded by water of the same level in a 25 °C (77 °F) environment, eight began to flourish and mature within weeks and in November 2009, the waterlilies flowered for the first time. [16] During this time, a rat had eaten one of the last two cultivated plants in Germany. With the germination problem solved, Magdalena says that the tiny plants are easy to grow, giving it potential to be grown as a houseplant. [17] In January 2014, a surviving water lily was stolen from the Royal Botanic Gardens. [18]

Uses

It has been proposed to be used as a model species for basal angiosperms, due to its small size, rapid lifecycle, and small genome. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nymphaeales</span> Order of flowering plants

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nymphaeaceae</span> Family of plants

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 emergent from the surface. Leaves are round, with a radial notch in Nymphaea and Nuphar, but fully circular in Victoria and Euryale.

<i>Nymphaea</i> Genus of aquatic plants

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 mean "water lily" and were inspired by the nymphs of Greek and Latin mythology.

<i>Nymphaea nouchali <span style="font-style:normal;">var.</span> caerulea</i> Species of plant

Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea, is a water lily in the genus Nymphaea, a botanical variety of Nymphaea nouchali.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Rwanda</span>

The wildlife of Rwanda comprising its flora and fauna, in prehistoric times, consisted of montane forest in one third the territory of present-day Rwanda. However, natural vegetation is now mostly restricted to the three national parks and four small forest reserves, with terraced agriculture dominating the rest of the country.

<i>Nymphaea nouchali</i> Species of aquatic plant

Nymphaea nouchali, often known by its synonym Nymphaea stellata, or by common names 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. It is native to southern and eastern parts of Asia, and is the national flower of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In Sanskrit 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.

<i>Nymphaea gigantea</i> Species of plant in the family Nymphaeaceae

Nymphaea gigantea, commonly known as the giant waterlily or blue waterlily, is a perennial, herbaceous plant in the family Nymphaeaceae which is native to parts of northern and eastern Australia, and it has been widely cultivated elsewhere. It is an aquatic plant whose natural habitat is permanent and semi-permanent still water bodies

<i>Barthlottia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Barthlottia madagascariensis is the only species in the genus Barthlottia of flowering plants in the family Scrophulariaceae. The large shrub with conspicuous purple flowers is native to a very restricted area in southeast Madagascar and was described in 1996.

<i>Nymphaea tetragona</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea tetragona is an aquatic perennial, species of flowering plant commonly called pygmy waterlily and small white water lily, belonging to the family Nymphaeaceae.

<i>Nymphaea dimorpha</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea dimorpha is a species of waterlily endemic to Madagascar.

<i>Nymphaea gardneriana</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea gardneriana is a species of waterlily native to Cuba and tropical South America.

<i>Nymphaea jamesoniana</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea jamesoniana is a species of waterlily native to the USA, Mexico, and tropical South America.

<i>Nymphaea lasiophylla</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea lasiophylla is a species of waterlily native to East Brazil. It has also been introduced to the Venezuelan Antilles.

<i>Nymphaea atrans</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea atrans is a species of waterlily is endemic to Queensland, Australia.

<i>Nymphaea siamensis</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea siamensis is a species of waterlily endemic to Thailand.

<i>Nymphaea vaporalis</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea vaporalis is a species of waterlily endemic to Queensland, Australia.

Nymphaea pulchella is a species of waterlily native to the regions spanning from Central and Southern Mexico to Brazil, as well as from the Bahamas to the Virgin Islands, including St. Croix.

<i>Nymphaea gracilis</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea gracilis is a species of waterlily endemic to Mexico. It is the only species of its genus, which is endemic to Mexico.

Nymphaea guineensis is a species of waterlily native to the region spanning from tropical West Africa to Chad.

<i>Nymphaea immutabilis</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea immutabilis is a species of waterlily native to Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland, Australia.

References

  1. 1 2 Fischer, E.; Ntore, S.; Nshutiyayesu, S.; Luke, W.R.Q.; Kayombo, C.; Kalema, J.; Kabuye, C.; Beentje, H.J. (2019). "Nymphaea thermarum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T185459A103564869. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T185459A103564869.en .
  2. ↑ "Nymphaea thermarum Eb.Fisch". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  3. ↑ Ghosh, Pallab (2010-05-18). "Waterlily saved from extinction". BBC News. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 Magdalena, Carlos (November 2009). "The world's tiniest waterlily doesn't grow in water!". Water Gardeners International. 4 (4). Retrieved 2010-05-19.
  5. ↑ Rwanda, National Herbarium of. "International Team of Botanists Rediscover Extinct Water Lily in Rwanda". PRLog. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  6. 1 2 3 Magdalena, Carlos. "Nymphaea thermarum". Plants & Fungi. Kew Gardens. Archived from the original on 23 May 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  7. ↑ Fischer, Eberhard (1993). "Taxonomic results of the BRYOTROP-Expedition to Zaire and Rwanda" (PDF). Tropical Bryology. 8: 13–37. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
  8. 1 2 Chen, Fei; Liu, Xing; Yu, Cuiwei; Chen, Yuchu; Tang, Haibao; Zhang, Liangsheng (2017). "Water lilies as emerging models for Darwin's abominable mystery" (PDF). Horticulture Research. 4 (1): 17051. Bibcode:2017HorR....417051C. doi:10.1038/hortres.2017.51. PMC   5626932 . PMID   28979789.
  9. ↑ Lei, Maolin; Hu, Yiheng (2022). "The complete chloroplast genome of Nymphaea thermarum (Nymphaeaceae) from Rwanda, Africa". Mitochondrial DNA Part B. 7 (1): 289–291. doi:10.1080/23802359.2021.1918030. PMC   8803108 . PMID   35111940.
  10. ↑ Fischer, Eberhard; Rodriguez, Carlos Magdalena (2010). "690. Nymphaea Thermarum". Curtis's Botanical Magazine. 27 (4): 318–327. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8748.2010.01711.x . Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  11. ↑ "In Harvard studies of plant tug-of-war, mom wins". Harvard Gazette. 2018-03-14. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  12. 1 2 Povilus, RA; Losada, JM; Friedman, WE (2015). "Floral biology and ovule and seed ontogeny of Nymphaea thermarum, a water lily at the brink of extinction with potential as a model system for basal angiosperms". Annals of Botany. 115 (2): 211–226. doi:10.1093/aob/mcu235. PMC   4551091 . PMID   25497514.
  13. ↑ Publishing, Bloomsbury (2014-08-14). Going, Going, Gone: 100 animals and plants on the verge of extinction. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN   978-1-4081-8632-9.
  14. ↑ "Smallest waterlily in the world saved from extinction – by Kew Gardens". the Guardian. 2010-05-19. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  15. ↑ McCarthy, Michael (2010-05-19). "Smallest lily saved from extinction". The Independent . London. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  16. ↑ "'Extinct' Waterlily back from the dead" Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine , Australian Geographic , May 21, 2010.
  17. ↑ Smyth, Chris (2010-05-19). "World's smallest water lily comes from Rwanda to your window sill". The Times . London. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  18. ↑ "World's smallest waterlily stolen after being dug up". ITV. 2014-01-13. Retrieved 2014-01-13.
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