Nymphaea hastifolia is a species of waterlily native to the Northern Territory, and Western Australia.
Description Vegetative characteristics Nymphaea hastifolia is an annual or perennial aquatic herb with globose rhizomes. The elliptical floating leaves with sinuate margins are 20 cm long, and 15 cm wide. The adaxial leaf surface is green, but the abaxial leaf surface displays purple colouration.Elliot, W. R., Jones, D. L. (1981). "Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation: N-Po." p. 47. Australien: Lothian Publishing Company Pty. Limited. Generative characteristics The emergent flowers are white.Magdalena, C. (2017). "The Plant Messiah: Adventures in Search of the World’s Rarest Species." Vereinigtes Königreich: Penguin Books Limited. The seeds are ellipsoid or globoid.
Reproduction Generative reproduction Flowering occurs from March to June.Species: Nymphaea hastifolia. (n.d.). Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved January 1, 2024, from https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://id.biodiversity.org.au/node/apni/2897049#ausTraits
Taxonomy Publication It was first described by Karel Domin in 1925.
Type specimen The type specimen was collected by Schultz in Port Darwin, Australia.Type of Nymphaea hastifolia Domin [family NYMPHAEACEAE]. (n.d.). JSTOR. Retrieved January 2, 2024, from https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.k000659160
Placement within Nymphaea It is placed in Nymphaea subgenus Anecphya.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.Löhne, C. (2007). "Molecular Phylogenetics and Historical Biogeography of Basal Angiosperms (Doctoral dissertation, Universitäts-und Landesbibliothek Bonn)."
Etymology The specific epithet hastifolia is derived from hasta, meaning spear, and folium, meaning leaf. It means having spear-shaped leaves.Dioscorea hastifolia. (2021, September 16). Friends of Queens Park Bushland | Protect & Regenerate Bushland. Retrieved January 2, 2024, from https://www.friendsofqueensparkbushland.org.au/dioscorea-hastifolia/Ilieva, I. A. (2023). "Specific botanical epithets meaning likeness."
Conservation It is not threatened.
Ecology Habitat It occurs in lagoons,Lamche, G. (2007). "THE LAGOONS OF THE OUTER DARWIN AREA, NT."LAMCHE, G., & SCHULT, J. (2012). "MACROPHYTE VEGETATION OF SIX LAGOONS IN THE DARWIN REGION, NT."Lamche, G., Schult, J., & Estbergs, A. (2008). "Trialing a Framework and Indicators for Wetland Extent, Distribution and Condition at the Regional Level." peat bogs, seasonally flooded grassland,Finlayson, C.M., Cowie, I.D., Bailey, B.J. (1990). Characteristics of a Seasonally Flooded Freshwater System in Monsoonal Australia. In: Whigham, D.F., Good, R.E., Kvet, J. (eds) Wetland Ecology and Management: Case Studies. Tasks for vegetation science, vol 25. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2115-3_18 ephemeral billabongs, creeks,Western Australian Herbarium (1998–). Florabase—the Western Australian Flora. Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. https://florabase.dbca.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/13915 (Accessed 2 January 2024). and rivers.Keighery, G. (n.d.). "Protecting the Kimberley's unique flora."
Use The rhizome, roots, and seeds of Nymphaea hastifolia are used as food.Gil Hardwick, Economically Useful Plants for Northern Australia: Master Species List, August 2001, http://ebookswest.com.au/northern_species_list.pdfVigilante, T., Toohey, J., Gorring, A., Blundell, V., Saunders, T., Mangolamara, S., ... & Doohan, K. (2013). "Island country: Aboriginal connections, values and knowledge of the Western Australian Kimberley islands in the context of an island biological survey." Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement, 81, 145-181.
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