Nymphaea odorata var. maxima (Conard ex L.H.Bailey) B.Boivin
Nymphaea spiralis Raf.
Nymphaea tuberosa var. maxima Conard ex L.H.Bailey
Nymphaea odorata subsp. tuberosa is a subspecies of Nymphaea odorata native to the region spanning from Central and Eastern Canada, extending to North Central and Northeastern United States.[1]
Nymphaea odorata subsp. tuberosa has horizontal, tuberous, branched,[2] 30-80 cm long, and 2-5 cm wide rhizomes.[3] The leaves of mature plants float on the water, or extend 2-7 cm above the surface. The petiolate, orbicular leaves are 12-38 cm wide.[2] The abaxial leaf surface is green or slightly purple.[4][5] The petiole has brown to purple stripes.[4] It has four primary central, and twelve secondary peripheral air canals.[2]
The 10-23 cm wide flowers emerge 10-15 cm above the water surface. They have green, terete, 30-200 cm long, and 0.5-0.9 cm wide peduncles.[2] The peduncles have red to brown stripes.[3][6] The flowers have four sepals with a rounded apex. The white, obovate to spatulate petals have a rounded apex. The gynoecium consists of 14 carpels. The globose, 2.2 cm long, and 3.2 cm wide fruit bears[2] 2.8-4.5 mm long seeds.[4]
The flowers are inodorous, or only very faintly fragrant.[6][2][3]
It was described as Nymphaea tuberosa Paine by John Alsop Paine in 1865. Later, it was included in the species Nymphaea odorata Aiton as the subspecies Nymphaea odorata subsp. tuberosa (Paine) Wiersema & Hellq. published by John Harry Wiersema & Carl Barre Hellquist in 1994.[1][4]
^ abcdWiersema, J. H., & Hellquist, C. B. (1994). NOMENCLATURAL NOTES IN NYMPHAEACEAE FOR THE NORTH AMERICAN FLORA. Rhodora, 96(886), 170–178. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23313084
^Bayton, R. (2020). Practical Uses of Botanical Latin. In The Gardener's Botanical: An Encyclopedia of Latin Plant Names - with More than 5,000 Entries (pp. 22-318). Princeton: Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691209135-007
