Nymphaea lotus

Description

Vegetative characteristics

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

Generative characteristics

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

Cytology

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

Taxonomy

It was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The lectotype was designated by Bernard Verdcourt in 1989. It is placed in the subgenus Nymphaea subg. Lotos,

Distribution

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.

Ecology

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.

Conservation

Overall, Nymphaea lotus has been categorised as a species of Least Concern (LC).

Uses

As an ornamental plant

It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in aquaria, where it is cultivated under bright conditions in 22–28°C warm water.

As a symbol

The Egyptian lotus is the national flower of Egypt.

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

As food

The tubers and seeds are used as food.

Chemistry

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, myricetin-3-O-rhamnoside and penta-*O''-galloyl-β-D-glucose.

References

References

1. Allen, D.J.. (2018). "''Nymphaea lotus''".
2. "''Nymphaea lotus'' L.".
3. {{GRIN
4. "Nymphaea lotus (NYMLO)[Overview]| EPPO Global Database".
5. ''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. ''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. 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. ''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. Verdcourt, B. (1989). [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=VicIFn-2fQYC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=verdcourt+nymphaeaceae&ots=6Ed7x95r7B&sig=anMetLDptZ34XyI91vlJjX2J1-w Flora of Tropical East Africa-Nymphaeceae] (1989) (Vol. 128). CRC Press.
10. Henkel, F., Rehnelt, F., Dittmann, L. (1907). [https://archive.org/details/Henkel_Nymphaeaceen/page/n70/mode/1up Das Buch der Nymphaeaceen oder Seerosengewächse.] p. 69. Germany: Henkel.
11. Conard, Henry S. (1905). [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35045047 The waterlilies: a monograph of the genus ''Nymphaea''] (p. 194). Pub. by the Carnegie Institution of Washington.
12. 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). [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jaume-Pellicer/publication/258146664_Insight_into_the_dynamics_of_genome_size_and_chromosome_evolution_in_the_early_diverging_angiosperm_lineage_Nymphaeales_water_lilies/links/00b7d51f69df90a0b4000000/Insight-into-the-dynamics-of-genome-size-and-chromosome-evolution-in-the-early-diverging-angiosperm-lineage-Nymphaeales-water-lilies.pdf 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. of which it is the type species.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). [http://real.mtak.hu/91323/1/Laczko-LBA_etal_AquatBot_ms.pdf "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.
20. However, in the Mediterranean, it is classified as Critically Endangered (CR).Ali, M.M. 2010. [https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/164281/5808779 ''Nymphaea lotus'' (Mediterranean assessment).] The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: e.T164281A5808779. Accessed on 21 June 2025.
21. Lobato-de Magalhães, T., Murphy, K., L. Otte, M., Molina-Navarro, E. (2025). [https://www.google.de/books/edition/World_Atlas_of_Freshwater_Macrophytes/8zZWEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Nymphaea%20lotus%22%20ornamental&pg=PA75&printsec=frontcover World Atlas of Freshwater Macrophytes: Dicotyledonous Species II (Molluginaceae – Tetrachondraceae) - Volume 2.] p. 75. Germany: Springer Nature Switzerland.
22. Hiscock, P. (2024). [https://www.google.de/books/edition/Encyclopedia_of_aquarium_plants/aDX_EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Nymphaea%20lotus%20aquarium&pg=PT505&printsec=frontcover 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. (2019-06-19). "The Lotus: Egypt's National Flower". Egyptian Streets.
26. (19 May 2018). "The Wedding Dress, Bridesmaids' Dresses and Page Boys' Uniforms".
27. Hammer, K., Pérez, M. Á. E., & Long, C. (2025). [https://www.google.de/books/edition/Diversity_and_Geography_of_Cultivated_Pl/ct9PEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Nymphaea%20lotus%22%20ornamental&pg=RA1-PA1839&printsec=frontcover Diversity and geography of cultivated plants.] p. 1839. CRC Press.
28. (1953). "Waterlilies as Food". Kew Bulletin.
29. (2003). "Two very unusual macrocyclic flavonoids from the water lily Nymphaea lotus". Phytochemistry.
30. "KNApSAcK Metabolite Information - Nymphaea lotus".