Nymphaea divaricata is a species of waterlily native to Angola, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Description Vegetative characteristics The elongate rhizome is 1-2 cm wide. The leaves are 8-24 cm long.Compilation Nymphaea divaricata. (n.d.). JSTOR. Retrieved December 26, 2023, from https://plants.jstor.org/compilation/Nymphaea.divaricata The foliage of Nymphaea divaricata is distinctive in that it predominantly consists of submerged leaves, with floating leaves being a rare occurrence.Hutchinson, J. (1946). "A Botanist in Southern Africa." p. 525. Vereinigtes Königreich: P. R. Gawthorn Limited."Ergebnisse der Forschungsreisen Prof. E. Stromer’s in den Wüsten Ägyptens. IV. Die fossilen Floren Ägyptens." p. 46. (1939). Alexander Doweld.Lebrun, J., Stork, A. L. (2003). "Tropical African Flowering Plants: Ecology and Distribution." p. 94. Deutschland: Éditions Conservatoire et jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genéve.Magdalena, C. (2017). "The Plant Messiah: Adventures in Search of the World’s Rarest Species." Vereinigtes Königreich: Penguin Books Limited. The leaves are divaricately lobed. Generative characteristics The yellow, pink or blue, floating to slightly emerging flowers are 4-10 cm wide. The four acute, lanceolate or ovate-oblong sepals are 2.6–4.5 cm long and 0.8–1.2 cm wide. The 12–15 acute, lanceolate, or obtuse petals are as long as the sepals. The androecium consists of 20–30 stamens with acute appendages of the connective. The gynoecium consists of 12–18 carpels with short styles.
Taxonomy It was first described by John Hutchinson in 1931.
Etymology The specific epithet divaricata references divaricately lobed leaves of this species.Hutchinson, J. (1931). General Smuts’ Botanical Expedition to Northern Rhodesia, 1930. Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew), 1931(5), 225–254. https://doi.org/10.2307/4102484
Conservation The IUCN conservation status is Data Deficient (DD). It is a rare species.Kennedy, M. P., Lang, P., Grimaldo, J. T., Martins, S. V., Bruce, A., Hastie, A., ... & Murphy, K. J. (2015). "Environmental drivers of aquatic macrophyte communities in southern tropical African rivers: Zambia as a case study." Aquatic Botany, 124, 19-28.
Ecology Habitat Nymphaea divaricata occurs in deep, slowly flowing waters, rivers, lakes, and pools. It also occurs in nutrient-poor waters.Kennedy, M. P., & Murphy, K. J. (2012). "A picture guide to aquatic plants of Zambian rivers." SAFRASS Deliverable Report to the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Group) Science and Technology Programme. University of Aberdeen, UK, 25. In its natural habitat, the submerged foliage forms a dense carpet.
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