Nuphar microphylla
Nuphar microphylla is a perennial, rhizomatous, aquatic herb found in North America. It is listed as a special concern and believed extirpated in Connecticut.Description
Vegetative characteristics
Nuphar microphylla is a perennial, rhizomatous, aquatic herb with 1–2 cm wide rhizomes. The ovate to broadly elliptic, 3.5–10 cm long, and 3.5–7.5 cm wide floating leaves have a deep sinus. The abaxial leaf surface is often purple. The leaf venation is pinnate.Generative characteristics
The small, yellow to green, 1–2 cm wide flowers float on the water surface. The red stigmatic disks are 2.5–7 mm wide.Cytology
The chromosome count is 2n = 34.Taxonomy
It was first published as Nymphaea microphylla by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1806. It was placed into the genus Nuphar as Nuphar microphylla published by Merritt Lyndon Fernald in 1917. It is placed in the section Nuphar sect. Nuphar. It is a parent species of the natural hybrid Nuphar × rubrodiscaEtymology
The specific epithet microphylla means small-leaved.Ecology
Habitat
It occurs in ponds, marshes, and lakes.Conservation
It is endangered in the US-american states Pennsylvania, Michigan, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. It is susceptible to pollution, e.g., by herbicides meant to combat invasive weeds. It is also threatened by invasive plants.