Nymphaeaceae

Plant Sex: Flowers bisexual

Flowers: Actinomorphic, parts numerous and spirally arranged. Sepals and petals undifferentiated, grading into each other. Stamens often grading into the petals (laminar). Flowers functionally staminate day one, carpellate day two; bee or beetle pollinated.

Inflorescence: Flowers solitary, emergent.

Fruits: Berry-like, spongy below.

Habit: Perennial aquatics.

Leaves: borne from a large rhizome. Vessels absent or present only in rhizome. Petiole and leaf tissue with aerenchyma. Leave floating, often large, peltate or cordate.

Examples:

Nymphaea (water lily)

water lilies on pond, Kew Gardens, UK
flowering plant
flower in L.S.
petal to stamen series (from one flower) demonstrating laminar stamens
gynoecium with perianth removed (right) and in L.S. (left)

Nuphar (spatter dock)

Victoria (royal water lily)

habit of plant in cultivation at Missouri Botanical Garden
plant in flower
back of leaf showing sharp spines.
two water lilies (Victoria and Nymphaea)

Nymphaeaceae, Fig. 9.5 from Judd et al. (2008)

Another family of water lilies is NELUMBONACEAE which contains only two species, Nelumbo nucifera and N. lutea (water lotus). The gynoecium consists of numerous apocarpous carpels embedded in a spongy receptacle. It is now known (from molecular evidence) that Nelumbonaceae is a eudicot related to Platanus, the sycamore!

Nelumbo nucifera

habit of plant in flower on SIUC campus lake
flower
flower L.S.
habit of plants in fruit on SIUC campus lake
young fruit
old, dried fruit

SIUC / College of Science / Elements of Plant Systematics
URL: http://www.plantbiology.siu.edu/PLB304/Lecture12Magnol/Nymphaeaceae.html
Last updated: 27-Feb-08 / dln