Nymphaea odorata subsp. odorata

Common names: Nymphéa odorant
Illustrated
Synonyms: Castalia lekophylla Small Castalia minor (Sims) de Candolle Castalia odorata (Aiton) Wood Nymphaea odorata forma rubra (E. Guillon) Conard Nymphaea odorata var. gigantea Tricker Nymphaea odorata var. godfreyi D. B. Ward Nymphaea odorata var. minor Sims Nymphaea odorata var. rosea Pursh Nymphaea odorata var. stenopetala Fernald
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 3.

Rhizomes not constricted at branch joints, or only rarely so. Leaves: petiole uniformly greenish or more commonly reddish purple, rarely faintly striped, slender to stout. Leaf-blade abaxially usually deeply reddish or purplish, occasionally greenish. Flowers: petals white, rarely pink, mostly lanceolate to elliptic, outer usually slightly or strongly tapering to apex, apex acute to rounded. Seeds 1.5-2.5 mm. 2n = 56, 84.


Phenology: Flowering spring–early fall, mainly summer farther north.
Habitat: Acidic or alkaline ponds, lakes, sluggish streams and rivers, pools in marshes, ditches, canals, or sloughs
Elevation: 0-1700 m

Distribution

V3 168-distribution-map.gif

B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr. (Nfld.), N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask., Ala., Ariz., Ark., Calif., Colo., Conn., Del., D.C., Fla., Ga., Idaho, Ill., Kans., Ky., La., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Mont., Nebr., Nev., N.H., N.J., N.Mex., N.Y., N.C., Okla., Oreg., Pa., R.I., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Utah, Vt., Va., Wash., W.Va., Wis., Mexico, West Indies (Bahamas), West Indies (Cuba), Central America (Honduras), Central America (El Salvador), Central America (Nicaragua), South America (n Guyana), South America (naturalized)

Discussion

Nymphaea odorata subsp. odorata is introduced in British Columbia and in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Intermediates to subsp. tuberosa (see previous comment for distribution) cannot be keyed satisfactorily to either subspecies. Plants of west-central Manitoba and east-central Saskatchewan, which are intermediate with Nymphaea leibergii in most floral characters, are only tentatively placed here. Unusually dwarfed plants that have been treated as Nymphaea odorata var. minor may be responses to highly acidic conditions. Very robust forms recognized by some as N. odorata var. gigantea occur sporadically along the coastal plain from New Jersey southward, perhaps in response to some unknown environmental factor. Further study should be undertaken. Occasional pink-flowered forms, treated as N. odorata var. rosea or forma rubra, are known from several states; all existing populations appear to be introductions for ornamental purposes. Natural hybrids with N. leibergii and N. mexicana are discussed under those species. Nymphaea reniformis Walter, an earlier name of uncertain application that has at times been applied to this taxon, has been recently proposed for rejection (J. H. Wiersema and J. L. Reveal 1991).

Flowering responses in the northern part of the range, where the flowers generally open slightly later in the morning and close much later in the afternoon, are much more variable than those farther south.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
acute +  and rounded +
0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
John. H. Wiersema +  and C. Barre Hellquist +
divergent;overlapping +
Nymphéa odorant +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
B.C. +, Man. +, N.B. +, Nfld. and Labr. (Nfld.) +, N.S. +, Ont. +, P.E.I. +, Que. +, Sask. +, Ala. +, Ariz. +, Ark. +, Calif. +, Colo. +, Conn. +, Del. +, D.C. +, Fla. +, Ga. +, Idaho +, Ill. +, Kans. +, Ky. +, La. +, Maine +, Md. +, Mass. +, Mich. +, Minn. +, Miss. +, Mo. +, Mont. +, Nebr. +, Nev. +, N.H. +, N.J. +, N.Mex. +, N.Y. +, N.C. +, Okla. +, Oreg. +, Pa. +, R.I. +, S.C. +, Tenn. +, Tex. +, Utah +, Vt. +, Va. +, Wash. +, W.Va. +, Wis. +, Mexico +, West Indies (Bahamas) +, West Indies (Cuba) +, Central America (Honduras) +, Central America (El Salvador) +, Central America (Nicaragua) +, South America (n Guyana) +  and South America (naturalized) +
0-1700 m +
6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br /> (19 cm190 mm <br />0.19 m <br />) +
nocturnal +  and diurnal +
emersed +  and floating +
protogynous +  and bisexual +
dehiscent +  and indehiscent +
Acidic or alkaline ponds, lakes, sluggish streams and rivers, pools in marshes, ditches, canals, or sloughs +
extra-axillary +  and axillary +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br />) +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br />) +
greenish +, purplish +  and reddish +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (40 cm400 mm <br />0.4 m <br />) +
ovate;nearly orbiculate +
10cm +  and 40cm +
emersed +, submersed +  and floating +
linear-tapered +
entire to spinose-dentate +
cream-colored +  and yellow +
transitional +
whorled +, or +  and arranged +
pink +  and white +
17 +  and 43 +
tapering;mostly lanceolate;elliptic +
striped +, reddish purple +  and greenish +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
slender;stout +
Flowering spring–early fall, mainly summer farther north. +
3-35-carpellate +
cylindric +
not constricted +
tuberous-thickened +
adventitious +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.45 cm4.5 mm <br />0.0045 m <br />) +
1.5-1.75 times as long as broad +
several;numerous +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br />) +
0.09 cm0.9 mm <br />9.0e-4 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
reddened +  and green +
distinct +
ovate;elliptic +
Illustrated +
elongate +
Castalia lekophylla +, Castalia minor +, Castalia odorata +, Nymphaea odorata +, Nymphaea odorata var. gigantea +, Nymphaea odorata var. godfreyi +, Nymphaea odorata var. minor +, Nymphaea odorata var. rosea +  and Nymphaea odorata var. stenopetala +
Nymphaea odorata subsp. odorata +
Nymphaea odorata +
subspecies +
distinct +