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Nymphaea lotus

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Nymphaea lotus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Order: Nymphaeales
Family: Nymphaeaceae
Genus: Nymphaea
Subgenus: Nymphaea subg. Lotos
Species:
N. lotus
Binomial name
Nymphaea lotus
Varieties[2]
Synonyms[3][4]

Nymphaea dentata Schumach.
Nymphaea zenkeri Gilg.
Nymphaea liberiensis A.Chevalier

Nymphaea lotus, the white Egyptian lotus, tiger lotus, white lotus, or Egyptian water-lily,[3] is a flowering plant of the family Nymphaeaceae.

Description

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Nymphaea lotus var. thermalis (DC.) Tuzson floating leaf with scale bar (5 cm) on a white background
Complete Nymphaea lotus L. specimen with scale bar (50 cm) on a white background

Vegetative characteristics

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Nymphaea lotus is a rhizomatous,[5] perennial,[6] aquatic herb[7][8] with stoloniferous, ovoid, erect, branched or unbranched rhizomes[5] bearing leaf scars.[9] The stolons are slim.[5] The coriaceous,[10] orbicular to suborbicular[7] floating leaves with a dentate margin are 10–32(–50) cm long, and 11–28(–50) cm wide.[9] The leaf venation is actinodromous.[7]

Generative characteristics

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The white or cream,[8][7] fragrant[6][10] to nearly inodorous,[11] nocturnal,[5] protogynous,[10] pedunculate,[8] (6–)10–18(–25) cm wide flowers extend 15[9]–20 cm above the water surface.[7] The receptacle is conical. The stout, pubescent, 0.6–2.0 cm wide peduncle has 6 primary central and 12 secondary peripheral air canals.[11] The flower has four green,[12] broadly ovate,[11] 4.5–9(–11) cm long, and 2–3.5 cm wide sepals.[9] The 19–20 oval petals have a rounded apex.[11] The androecium consists of 40–80(–90) yellow stamens.[9] The gynoecium consists of 20–30 carpels.[5][9] The large,[11] globose,[9] 6–9 cm wide fruit with persistent sepals bears numerous arillate,[11] ellipsoid,[7] 1.4–1.8 mm long, and 0.9–1.2 mm wide seeds.[5] The peduncle does not coil in fruit.[11] Proliferating pseudanthia are absent.[7]

Cytology

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The chromosome count is 2n = 56. It is a tetraploid species.[13]

Taxonomy

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It was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.[14][2] The lectotype was designated by Bernard Verdcourt in 1989.[15] It is placed in the subgenus Nymphaea subg. Lotos,[3] of which it is the type species.[16][17]

Distribution

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It grows in various parts of East Africa and Southeast Asia. Nymphaea lotus var. thermalis was believed to be a Tertiary relict variety endemic to the thermal waters of Europe, for example, the Peţa River in Romania. DNA analysis has concluded that Nymphaea lotus var. thermalis lacks distinctiveness from Nymphaea lotus and therefore cannot be classified as a relic population.[18]

Ecology

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Nymphaea lotus has the exceptional ability to persist through a dry season with rhizomes. It possesses the ability to reduce evaporation by up to 18 percent on most of the days during the summer period.[19]

Conservation

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Overall, Nymphaea lotus has been categorised as a species of Least Concern (LC).[1][20] However, in the Mediterranean, it is classified as Critically Endangered (CR).[21][20]

Uses

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As an ornamental plant

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It is cultivated as an ornamental plant[12][20] in aquaria,[20][22][23] where it is cultivated under bright conditions in 22–28°C warm water.[22][24]

As a symbol

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The Egyptian lotus is the national flower of Egypt.[25]

Claire Waight Keller included the flower to represent Malawi in Meghan Markle's wedding veil, which included the distinctive flora of each Commonwealth country.[26]

As food

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The tubers and seeds are used as food.[27][28]

Chemistry

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Other compounds include myricitrin, myricetin-3-(6′′-p-coumaroylglucoside), myricetin-3′-O-(6′′-p-coumaroyl)glucoside and two epimeric macrocyclic derivatives, nympholide A and B,[29] myricetin-3-O-rhamnoside and penta-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose.[30]

References

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  1. ^ a b Allen, D.J. (2018). "Nymphaea lotus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T164281A1038562. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Nymphaea lotus L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Nymphaea lotus". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2013-11-24.
  4. ^ "Nymphaea lotus (NYMLO)[Overview]| EPPO Global Database".
  5. ^ a b c d e f Nymphaea lotus in Flora of North America @ efloras.org. (n.d.). Retrieved June 21, 2025, from http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200007087
  6. ^ a b Nymphaea lotus (T/N). (n.d.). Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved June 21, 2025, from https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/11627/nymphaea-lotus-(t-n)/details
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Pellegrini, M. O. O. & Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. (n.d.). Nymphaea lotus L. Flora E Funga Do Brasil. Retrieved June 21, 2025, from https://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/FB10946
  8. ^ a b c Nymphaea lotus L. (n.d.). Flora of Zimbabwe. Retrieved June 21, 2025, from https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=123440
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Verdcourt, B. (1989). Flora of Tropical East Africa-Nymphaeceae (1989) (Vol. 128). CRC Press.
  10. ^ a b c Henkel, F., Rehnelt, F., Dittmann, L. (1907). Das Buch der Nymphaeaceen oder Seerosengewächse. p. 69. Germany: Henkel.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Conard, Henry S. (1905). The waterlilies: a monograph of the genus Nymphaea (p. 194). Pub. by the Carnegie Institution of Washington.
  12. ^ a b Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. (n.d.). Nymphaea lotus. Museu Nacional - UFRJ. Retrieved June 21, 2025, from https://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/hortobotanico/aquaticas/nymphaealotus.html
  13. ^ Pellicer, J., Kelly, L. J., Magdalena, C., & Leitch, I. J. (2013). Insights into the dynamics of genome size and chromosome evolution in the early diverging angiosperm lineage Nymphaeales (water lilies). Genome, 56(8), 437-449.
  14. ^ Linné, Carl von, & Salvius, Lars. (1753). Caroli Linnaei ... Species plantarum :exhibentes plantas rite cognitas, ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas... (Vol. 1, p. 511). Impensis Laurentii Salvii. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358530
  15. ^ Missouri Botanical Garden. (n.d.). Nymphaea lotus L. Tropicos. Retrieved June 21, 2025, from https://www.tropicos.org/name/22600022
  16. ^ Nymphaea subg. Lotos, in (ed.), Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Nymphaea%20subg.%20Lotos [Date Accessed: 22 June 2025]
  17. ^ Nymphaea sect. Lotos DC. (n.d.). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved June 21, 2025, from https://www.ipni.org/n/77303556-1
  18. ^ Laczkó, L., Lukács, B. A., Mesterházy, A., Molnár, A., & Sramkó, G. (2019). "Is Nymphaea lotus var. thermalis a Tertiary relict in Europe?." Aquatic Botany, 155, 1-4.
  19. ^ Sambasiva Rao, A. (1988-03-01). "Evapotranspiration rates of Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms, Salvinia molesta d.s. Mitchell and Nymphaea lotus (L.) Willd. Linn. in a humid tropical climate". Aquatic Botany. 30 (3): 215–222. doi:10.1016/0304-3770(88)90052-6. ISSN 0304-3770.
  20. ^ a b c d Lobato-de Magalhães, T., Murphy, K., L. Otte, M., Molina-Navarro, E. (2025). World Atlas of Freshwater Macrophytes: Dicotyledonous Species II (Molluginaceae – Tetrachondraceae) - Volume 2. p. 75. Germany: Springer Nature Switzerland.
  21. ^ Ali, M.M. 2010. Nymphaea lotus (Mediterranean assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: e.T164281A5808779. Accessed on 21 June 2025.
  22. ^ a b Hiscock, P. (2024). Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants. United Kingdom: Parkstone International.
  23. ^ Nymphaea lotus “grün” - Grüner Tigerlotus. (n.d.). Flowgrow. Retrieved June 21, 2025, from https://www.flowgrow.de/db/wasserpflanzen/nymphaea-lotus-grun
  24. ^ Ahmed, A. (2024, August 6). Nymphaea Tiger guide for optimal care, cultivation, and beauty. Aqualand Pets. Retrieved June 21, 2025, from https://aqualandpetsplus.com/nymphaea-tiger-lotus/
  25. ^ "The Lotus: Egypt's National Flower". Egyptian Streets. 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
  26. ^ "The Wedding Dress, Bridesmaids' Dresses and Page Boys' Uniforms". Royal.uk. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  27. ^ Hammer, K., Pérez, M. Á. E., & Long, C. (2025). Diversity and geography of cultivated plants. p. 1839. CRC Press.
  28. ^ F.R. Irvine & R.S. Trickett (1953). "Waterlilies as Food". Kew Bulletin. 8 (3): 363–370. doi:10.2307/4115519. JSTOR 4115519.
  29. ^ Elegami, AA; Bates, C; Gray, AI; MacKay, SP; Skellern, GG; Waigh, RD (2003). "Two very unusual macrocyclic flavonoids from the water lily Nymphaea lotus". Phytochemistry. 63 (6): 727–31. Bibcode:2003PChem..63..727E. doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(03)00238-3. PMID 12842147.
  30. ^ "KNApSAcK Metabolite Information - Nymphaea lotus". Knapsackfamily.com. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
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