Nymphaea conardii

{{Speciesbox

| image =

| image_caption =

| genus = Nymphaea

| parent = Nymphaea subg. Hydrocallis

| species = conardii

| authority = Wiersema

| synonyms =

| synonyms_ref =

| range_map =

| range_map_caption =

}}

Nymphaea conardii is a species of waterlily native to the region spanning from Southern Mexico to tropical South America.{{cite POWO |id=281432-2 |title=Nymphaea conardii Wiersema |accessdate=15 December 2023}}

Description

=Vegetative characteristics=

Nymphaea conardii is an aquatic herb with ovoid, 4.5 cm wide rhizomes.Velásquez, J. (1994). [https://books.google.com/books?id=CkdnTn-5ASUC&dq=Nymphaea%20conardii&pg=PA102 "Plantas acuáticas vasculares de Venezuela."] p. 102. Venezuela: Universidad Central de Venezuela, Consejo de Desarrollo Científico y Humanistico. The ovate-elliptical leaf blade is uniformly green, and it can reach up to 18 cm in length and 14 cm in width. The leaf venation is reticulate and dichotomous, with 9-15 primary veins. The leaf blade is attached to glabrous, max. 4 mm wide petioles with 2-4 primary and 4-6 secondary air canals.

=Generative characteristics=

The nocturnal flowers float on the water surface. The flowers have glabrous, non-brittle green peduncles with 5-6 primary, central air canals and 10-12 secondary, smaller, peripheral canals.de Lima, C. T., Machado, I. C., & Giulietti, A. M. (2021). [http://periodicos.uefs.br/index.php/sitientibusBiologia/article/download/4986/5243 "Nymphaeaceae of Brasil."] Sitientibus série Ciências Biológicas, 21. The flowers have uniformly green, 3-6 cm long and 1-3 cm wide, oblong-ovate sepals with an slightly rounded or acute apex.

The fruits are 1.5-1.7 cm long and 2.5-2.9 cm wide. The granulose, pilose, ellipsoid seeds have trichomes arranged in interrupted, longitudinal lines.Pellegrini, M. O. O. & Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. (n.d.). Nymphaea conardii Wiersema. Flora E Funga Do Brasil. Retrieved December 15, 2023, from https://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/FB10940 The trichomes are 10–60 μm long.Bonilla-Barbosa, J., Novelo, A., Orozco, Y. H., & Márquez-Guzmán, J. (2000). [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jaime-Bonilla-Barbosa/publication/268926727_2000_Comparative_seed_morphology_of_Mexican_Nymphaea_species/links/547c02e20cf205d16881cc26/2000-Comparative-seed-morphology-of-Mexican-Nymphaea-species.pdf "Comparative seed morphology of Mexican Nymphaea species."] Aquatic Botany, 68(3), 189-204.

Cytology

The diploid chromosome count is 2n = 28.Wiersema, J. H. (1987). A Monograph of Nymphaea Subgenus Hydrocallis (Nymphaeaceae). Systematic Botany Monographs, 16, 1–112. https://doi.org/10.2307/25027681

Reproduction

=Vegetative reproduction=

It is stoloniferous, but only in a brief period in which the tubers resume growth. Proliferating pseudanthia are absent.

=Generative reproduction=

Autogamy is possible, as the stigma retains its female function in the second day, when the pollen is released, thus enabling self-fertilization.Wiersema, J. H. (1988). Reproductive Biology of Nymphaea (Nymphaeaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 75(3), 795–804. https://doi.org/10.2307/2399367 The seed dispersal is hydrochorous (i.e. water-dispersed) or ornithochorous (i.e. bird-dispersed).Madriñán, S., Rial, A., Bedoya, A. M., Fernández, M. (2017). [https://books.google.com/books?id=6pXGDwAAQBAJ&dq=Nymphaea%20conardii&pg=PA28 "Plantas acuáticas de la Orinoquia colombiana."] p. 28. Kolumbien: Universidad de los Andes.

Taxonomy

=Publication=

It was first described by Wiersema in 1984.

=Type specimen=

The type specimen was collected on the 29th of August 1981 by J.H. Wiersema and A. Gonzalez from a pond in the Sosa Municipality of Barinas, Venezuela.Nymphaea conardii | International Plant Names Index. (n.d.). Retrieved December 15, 2023, from https://www.ipni.org/n/281432-2

=Placement within ''Nymphaea''=

It is placed in Nymphaea subg. Hydrocallis.Wiersema, J. H. (1984). Systematics of Nymphaea subgenus Hydrocallis (Nymphaeaceae). I. Four New Species from the Neotropics. Brittonia, 36(3), 213–222. https://doi.org/10.2307/2806510 It is closely related to Nymphaea gardneriana, Nymphaea glandulifera, and Nymphaea jamesoniana.Borsch, T., Hilu, K. W., Wiersema, J. H., Löhne, C., Barthlott, W., & Wilde, V. (2007). Phylogeny of Nymphaea (Nymphaeaceae): Evidence from Substitutions and Microstructural Changes in the Chloroplast trnT‐trnF Region. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 168(5), 639–671. https://doi.org/10.1086/513476

Etymology

The specific epithet conardii honours the botanist Henry Shoemaker Conard (1874 - 1971).

Conservation

Nymphaea conardii is considered to be vulnerable (VU) in Cuba.Urquiola Cruz, A. J., González-Oliva, L., Novo Carbó, R. (2010). [https://books.google.com/books?id=LC9TvmoY95UC&dq=Nymphaea%20conardii&pg=PA447 "Libro rojo de la flora vascular de la provincia Pinar del Río."] p. 447. Spanien: Universidad de Alicante.

Ecology

=Habitat=

It inhabits flooded savannas, shallow lagoons, and Morichales associated with still water (i.e. wetlands characterized by the presence of the moriche palm Mauritia flexuosa) at elevations of 0-200 m above sea level. It is also found in ponds and temporary ditches.