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Vascular Plants of California
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Nymphaea
WATERLILY, WATER-NYMPH

Higher Taxonomy
Family: NymphaeaceaeView DescriptionDichotomous Key

Common Name: WATERLILY FAMILY
Habit: Perennial herb, aquatic, rhizomed, stoloned or not; herbage with air chambers. Leaf: alternate, from rhizome; blades floating, submersed, or +- emergent, << petiole, +- deeply notched at base into 2 lobes [peltate]. Inflorescence: 1-flowered, axillary; peduncle long. Flower: bisexual, generally on or above water; sepals 4--14, free, petal-like or not; petals many [(0)], stamen-like or not; stamens many, attached to receptacle or ovary side, filaments generally wide; ovary compound, superior to inferior, chambers 3--many, many-ovuled, stigmas in radiating lines on stigmatic disk. Fruit: berry-like, +- dehiscent or not, spongy.
Genera In Family: 5 genera, +- 70 species: +- worldwide.
eFlora Treatment Author: John H. Wiersema
Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti.
Nymphaea
Habit: Rhizomes prostrate to erect, branched or not, stoloned or not. Leaf: blade generally floating, elliptic to round, basal lobes generally +- acute. Flower: sepals < petals, +- green; petals 8--many, white, +- red, [blue], or yellow; stamens many, attached to ovary side, erect to ascending at dehiscence, outer filaments flat, petal-like or not, inner linear; ovary < stamens. Seed: +- spheric to elliptic, arilled.
Species In Genus: +- 50 species: +- worldwide. Etymology: (Greek: water nymph) Note: Plants of both California taxa problematic weeds in waterways.
Jepson eFlora Author: John H. Wiersema
Reference: Woods et al. 2005 Syst Bot 30:471--480
Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)
Key to Nymphaea

Previous taxon: Nuphar polysepala
Next taxon: Nymphaea mexicana

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Citation for this treatment: John H. Wiersema 2012, Nymphaea, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=8797, accessed on April 25, 2024.

Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on April 25, 2024.