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Nymphaea leibergii — dwarf water-lily

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Facts

Dwarf water-lily is probably rare in much of its range, and enters New England only in northern Maine and Vermont. There are fewer than twenty populations in these states, in remote lakes and slow-moving streams.

Habitat

Lacustrine (in lakes or ponds), riverine (in rivers or streams)

New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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Characteristics

Habitat
aquatic
New England state
  • Maine
  • Vermont
Leaf position
  • some of the leaves are floating at the surface of the water
  • the leaves are all submerged underwater
Leaf arrangement
alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem
Leaf blade length
30–190 mm
Petal or sepal number
  • there are four petals, sepals, or tepals in the flower
  • there are seven or more petals, sepals, or tepals in the flower
Petal color
white
Specific leaf type
the leaf is not divided, rather the blade is made up of one segment
Floating leaf shape
  • the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
Underwater leaf blade width
20–150 mm
Fruit type (general)
the fruit is fleshy
Underwater leaf length
30–190 mm
Show all characteristics

  • Clonal plantlets

    Turion length
    0 mm

  • Flowers

    Anther color
    there is a noticeable pink, reddish or purplish tint to the anthers
    Carpels fused
    the carpels are fused to one another
    Flower lower lip length
    0 mm
    Flower number
    1
    Flower position
    the flowers are floating on the surface of the water
    Flower symmetry
    there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
    Inflorescence type
    the inflorescence has only one flower on it
    Inflorescence width
    30–75 mm
    Nectar spur
    the flower has no nectar spurs
    Number of carpels
    3–35
    Ovary position
    the sepals and/or petals are attached below the ovary
    Palate on corolla
    no
    Petal and sepal arrangement
    the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
    Petal appearance
    the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
    Petal color
    white
    Petal fringed edges
    the petals are not fringed
    Petal fusion
    the perianth parts are separate
    Petal hairs on inner/upper surface
    there are no hairs on the inner/upper petal surface
    Petal length
    20–25 mm
    Petal number
    8–15
    Petal or sepal number
    • there are four petals, sepals, or tepals in the flower
    • there are seven or more petals, sepals, or tepals in the flower
    Pistil number
    1
    Sepal appearance
    the sepals resemble leaves in color and texture
    Sepal length
    20–30 mm
    Sepal number
    4
    Sepals fused only to sepals
    the sepals are separate from one another
    Spur length
    0 mm
    Stamen number
    13 or more
    Stamen position relative to petals
    NA
    Stamens fused
    the stamens are not fused to one another

  • Fruits or seeds

    Fruit type (general)
    the fruit is fleshy
    Fruit type (specific)
    • the fruit is a berry (fleshy, with the wall enclosing one or more sections, with two or more seeds)
    • the fruit is a follicle (has one ovary that splits along one side to release the seeds)
    Fruit width
    20–25 mm

  • Glands or sap

    Oil glands on nodes
    none of the nodes have oil glands
    Sap
    the sap is clear and watery

  • Growth form

    Lifespan
    the plant lives more than two years
    Root septa
    the roots do not have transverse septa
    Roots floating in water
    there are no clusters of roots floating in the water
    Turions
    there are no turions on the plant
    Underground organs
    the plant has a rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)

  • Leaves

    Bract position (Sparganium)
    NA
    Bract relative length
    At least 3854 mm
    Bracts
    neither the flowers nor their pedicels have bracts
    Floating leaf basal lobes
    yes
    Floating leaf blade width
    20–150 mm
    Floating leaf length
    30–190 mm
    Floating leaf shape
    • the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
    • the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
    Floating leaf tip
    the tip of the floating leaf blade is rounded, with no point
    Floral bract form
    NA
    Floral bract length
    0 mm
    Leaf arrangement
    alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem
    Leaf blade length
    30–190 mm
    Leaf blade veins
    the lateral veins radiate from the base and continue to spread away from the centerline of the leaf, or branch off the central vein at intervals
    Leaf blade width
    20–150 mm
    Leaf position
    • some of the leaves are floating at the surface of the water
    • the leaves are all submerged underwater
    Leaf special features
    none of the mentioned special features are present
    Leaf-like branch segments
    0
    Leaf-like branch shape
    NA
    Specific leaf type
    the leaf is not divided, rather the blade is made up of one segment
    Staminate bract edge (Myriophyllum)
    NA
    Stipules
    the plant has stipules
    Trap-bladder length
    0 mm
    Underwater leaf blade edges
    the underwater leaf has smooth edges, without teeth
    Underwater leaf blade shape
    • the underwater leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
    • the underwater leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
    Underwater leaf blade veins
    7–13
    Underwater leaf blade width
    20–150 mm
    Underwater leaf length
    30–190 mm
    Underwater leaf stalk
    yes
    Underwater leaf tip shape
    the tip of the underwater leaf is rounded, with no point
    Veins in floating leaf
    7–13

  • Place

    Habitat
    aquatic
    New England state
    • Maine
    • Vermont
    Specific habitat
    • in lakes or ponds
    • in rivers or streams

  • Stem, shoot, branch

    Flowering stem growth form
    the flowering stem trails along the substrate, or floats in the water

Wetland status

Occurs only in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: OBL)

In New England

Distribution

Connecticut
absent
Maine
present
Massachusetts
absent
New Hampshire
absent
Rhode Island
absent
Vermont
present

Conservation status

Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.

Maine
extremely rare to rare (S-rank: S1S2), threatened (code: T)
Vermont
extremely rare (S-rank: S1), endangered (code: E)

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key

1.  Nymphaea leibergii Morong NC

dwarf water-lily. Castalia leibergii Morong; Nymphaea tetragona Georgi ssp. leibergii (Morong) Porsild; N. tetragona Georgi var. leibergii (Morong) Boivin • ME, VT; northern portion of states. Circumneutral water of lakes and slow-moving streams.

1×2. Nymphaea leibergii × Nymphaea odorata → This rare water-lily hybrid is known from ME, VT. It is sterile and intermediate 
in morphology between the parents.

Native to North America?

Yes

Sometimes confused with

Nymphaea odorata:
flowers 6–19 cm wide, with 40–100 stamens, stigmatic disk with 10–25 lines, and leaf blades orbicular, mostly 10–30 cm wide, with a narrow sinus, not mottled (vs. N. leibergii, with flowers 3–7.5 cm wide, with 20–40 stamens, stigmatic disk with 5–12 lines, and leaf blades elliptic, mostly 4–9 cm wide, with a wide sinus, mottled when young).

Synonyms

  • Castalia leibergii Morong
  • Nymphaea tetragona Georgi ssp. leibergii (Morong) Porsild
  • Nymphaea tetragona Georgi var. leibergii (Morong) Boivin

Family

Nymphaeaceae

Genus

Nymphaea