Nymphaea nouchali

Red and blue water lily
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
Order:	Nymphaeales
Family:	Nymphaeaceae
Genus:	Nymphaea
Species:	N. nouchali
Binomial name
Nymphaea nouchali Burm. f.
Synonyms
Castalia acutiloba (DC.) Hand.-Mazz. Castalia stellaris Salisb. Castalia stellata (Willd.) Blume Leuconymphaea stellata (Willd.) Kuntze Nymphaea acutiloba DC. Nymphaea cahlara Donn, nom. inval. Nymphaea cyanea Roxb. Nymphaea edgeworthii Lehm. Nymphaea henkeliana Rehnelt Nymphaea hookeriana Lehm. Nymphaea malabarica Poir. Nymphaea membranacea Wall. ex Casp., nom. inval. Nymphaea minima F.M.Bailey nom. illeg. Nymphaea punctata Edgew. Nymphaea rhodantha Lehm. Nymphaea stellata Willd. Nymphaea stellata var. albiflora F. Henkel & al. Nymphaea stellata var. cyanea (Roxb.) Hook. f. & Thomson Nymphaea stellata var. parviflora Hook. f. & Thomson Nymphaea stellata var. versicolor (Sims) Hook. f. & Thomson Nymphaea tetragona var. acutiloba (DC.) F. Henkel & al. Nymphaea versicolor Sims Nymphaea voalefoka Lat.-Marl. ex W. Watson, nom. nud.

Nymphaea nouchali, commonly known as the Red and blue water lily, Blue star water lily, Star lotus, or by its synonym Nymphaea stellata, is a water lily of genus Nymphaea.

Distribution and habitat

Nymphea nouchali'; in Sanya city, Hainan island

This aquatic plant is native to the Indian Subcontinent area. It was spread to other countries already in ancient times and has been long valued as a garden flower in Thailand and Myanmar to decorate ponds and gardens.

In its natural state the Red and blue water-lily is found in static or slow-flowing aquatic habitats of little to moderate depth.

Description

Nymphaea nouchali; pale-colored variety in Cambodia.

Nymphaea nouchali is a day blooming nonviviparous plant with submerged roots and stems. Part of the leaves are submerged, while others rise slightly above the surface. The leaves are round and green on top; they usually have a darker underside. The floating leaves have undulating edges that give them a crenellate appearance. Their size is about 20–23 cm and their spread is 0.9 to 1.8 m

This water-lily has a beautiful flower which is usually violet blue in color with reddish edges. Some varieties have white, purple, mauve or fuchsia-colored flowers. The flower has 4-5 sepals and 13-15 petals that have an angular appearance making the flower look star-shaped from above. The cup-like calyx has a diameter of 11–14 cm.

Symbolism

Sigiriya frescoes, Anuradhapura period, Central Ceylon. The lady on the left is holding a Nil Mānel.

Nymphaea nouchali is the National flower of Bangladesh (where it is known as "Shapla") and Sri Lanka (where it is known as Nil Mānel or "Nil Mahanel").^[1][2] Since "Nil" means ‘blue’ in Sinhala, the Sinhalese name of this plant is often rendered as "blue lotus" in English.

In Sri Lanka this plant usually grows in buffalo ponds and natural wetlands. Its beautiful aquatic flower has been mentioned in Sanskrit, Pali and Sinhala literary works since ancient times under the names "Kuvalaya", "Indhīwara", "Niluppala", "Nilothpala" and "Nilupul" as a symbol of virtue, discipline and purity. Buddhist lore in Sri Lanka claims that this flower was one of the 108 auspicious signs found on Prince Siddhartha's footprint.^[3] It is said that when Buddha died, lotus flowers blossomed everywhere he had walked in his lifetime.

The star lotus might have been one of the plants eaten by the Lotophagi of Homer's Odyssey.

Uses

Fuchsia-colored Nymphaea nouchali in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.

The Red and blue water-lily is used as an ornamental plant because of its spectacular flowers. It is also popular as an aquarium plant under the name "Dwarf Lily" or "Dwarf Red Lily".^[4] Sometimes it is grown for its flowers, while other aquarists prefer to trim the lily pads, and just have the underwater foliage.

Nymphaea nouchali is considered a medicinal plant in Indian Ayurvedic medicine under the name Ambal; it was mainly used to treat indigestion.^[5] Recent experiments have confirmed that it has medicinal qualities as an antihepatotoxic and antidiabetic.^[6][7] Like all waterlilies or lotuses, its tubers and rhizomes can be used as food items; they are eaten usually boiled or roasted. In the case of the Red and blue water-lily, its tender leaves and flower peduncles are also valued as food.^[8]

The dried plant is collected from ponds, tanks and marshes during the dry season and used in India as animal forage.^[9]

See also

• Nymphaea caerulea, the Egyptian blue lotus or sacred lotus
• Nymphaea lotus, the white lotus or Egyptian white water-lily
• List of freshwater aquarium plant species

References

1. ^ "Sri Lanka National Flower". Government of Sri Lanka Official Web Portal. Government of Sri Lanka. http://www.gov.lk/gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64&lang=en. Retrieved 4 March 2011. 
2. ^ Zeylanica (Nymphaea stellata)
3. ^ TokyoNet - National Statistics
4. ^ Dwarf Aquarium Lily (Nymphaea stellata)
5. ^ P. V. Sharma, Puṣpāyurvedaḥ - Pradhāna vitaraka Caukhambhā Bhāratī Akādamī, 1998
6. ^ MR Bhandarkar, A Khan - Antihepatotoxic effect of Nymphaea stellata willd., against carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic damage in albino rats - Journal of ethnopharmacology, 2004
7. ^ K Rajagopal, K Sasikala -Antidiabetic activity of hydro-ethanolic extracts of Nymphaea Stellata flowers- African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 2008
8. ^ FR Irvine, RS Trickett - Waterlilies as Food - Kew Bulletin, 1953
9. ^ A Banerjee, S Matai - Composition of Indian aquatic plants in relation to utilization as animal forage - Journal of Aquatic plant management, 1990

Nymphaea Nouchali also known "Shapla" a national flower and icon of Bangladesh. The national flower of Bangladesh is Shapla (Water Lily). Shapla is a flower floating at ease in almost every water bodies of Bangladesh. Beels haors, brooks, ponds etc. are abodes of this flower. There are two types of Shapla differing in color. One is white and the other is pink. Other than adding to the beauty of Bangladesh, Shapla is a delicious item of food for Bangladeshis. Rural people consume it as curry. Children are also fond of eating the stem and the fruit even green. Bangladeshis adore this flower which is expressed better by making a dummy of Shapla called Shapla Chattar at Motijheel in Dhaka. Leton, Houston, TX

External links

• http://www.srilankareptile.com. Sri Lanka Reptile Database.
• Taxon: Nymphaea stellata Willd. - Synonym of Nymphaea nouchali Burm. f.
• Perry D. Slocum: Waterlilies and Lotuses. Timber Press 2005, ISBN 0881926841 (restricted online version at Google Books)
• Ambal (Nymphaea stellata) - Flowers of India - Kerala Ayurvedics
• M. K. Kaul, Medicinal plants of Kashmir and Ladakh, 1997