Nymphaea nouchali var. zanzibariensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Order:	Nymphaeales
Family:	Nymphaeaceae
Genus:	Nymphaea
Species:	N. nouchali
Variety:	N. n. var. zanzibariensis
Trinomial name
Nymphaea nouchali var. zanzibariensis (Casp.) Verdc.
Synonyms[1]
List Castalia zanzibarensis (Casp.) Britton Leuconymphaea zanzibariensis (Casp.) Kuntze Nymphaea caerulea subsp. zanzibariensis (Casp.) S.W.L.Jacobs Nymphaea capensis var. zanzibariensis (Casp.) Conard Nymphaea stellata var. zanzibariensis (Casp.) Hook.f. Nymphaea zanzibariensis Casp. Nymphaea capensis f. rosea Conard Nymphaea colorata Peter Nymphaea colorata var. parviflora Peter Nymphaea grandiflora Peter Nymphaea polychroma Peter Nymphaea purpurascens Peter Nymphaea zanzibariensis var. azurea Lovassy Nymphaea zanzibariensis var. pallida Peter Nymphaea zanzibariensis var. rosea Lovassy Nymphaea zanzibariensis var. rubra Lovassy Nymphaea zanzibariensis var. violacea Lovassy

Nymphaea nouchali var. zanzibariensis is a variety of the water lily species Nymphaea nouchali Burm.f. naturally found in the region stretching from Southeastern Kenya to Southern Africa, including the Comoros and Madagascar. It has been Introduced into Florida, USA.^[1][2][3]

Description

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It is day blooming and nonviviparous plant. Its flower has dark blue to violet color and consists of 4-5 sepals and 13-15 petals. The shape is cup-like with a diameter of 11–14 cm. The round leaves are green on the top and have bluish-violet underside. Their size is about 20–23 cm and their spread is 0.9 to 1.8m

Cytology

The haploid chromosome count is n = 14. The genome size is 489 Mb.^[4]

Taxonomy

Publication

It was first described as Nymphaea zanzibariensis Casp. by Robert Caspary in 1877. Later, it was included in the species Nymphaea nouchali Burm.f. as the variety Nymphaea nouchali var. zanzibariensis (Casp.) Verdc. published by Bernard Verdcourt in 1989.^[1]

Usage

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It is used as an ornamental flower and has the advantage of having a long flowering period. In addition it even keeps flowering when the temperatures drops to 18 C. It has been used to create several cultivars and hybrids.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nymphaea colorata.

• Perry D. Slocum: Waterlilies and Lotuses. Timber Press 2005, ISBN 0-88192-684-1 (restricted online version at Google Books)
• Fact sheet for the Nymphaea colorata