Nuphar polysepala

Nuphar polysepala
Secure
Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Order: Nymphaeales
Family: Nymphaeaceae
Genus: Nuphar
Section: Nuphar sect. Astylus
Species:
N. polysepala
Binomial name
Nuphar polysepala
Synonyms
List
  • Castalia polysepala (Engelm.) Greene
  • Nuphar lutea subsp. polysepala (Engelm.) Beal
  • Nymphaea polysepala (Engelm.) Kuntze
  • Nymphozanthus polysepalus (Engelm.) Fernald
  • Nuphar polysepala var. picta Engelm.

Nuphar polysepala, also known as the great yellow pond-lily, wokas, or wocus, is a perennial, rhizomatous, aquatic herb in the genus Nuphar. It has floating green leaves and yellow flowers.

The species is native to wetlands of western North America. The seeds are edible and the plant has been used in traditional medicine to treat superficial irritations.

Description

Nuphar polysepala is a perennial, rhizomatous, aquatic herb with an extensive root system. The rhizomes are up to 5 metres (16 ft) long and 3–8 centimetres (1+1⁄4–3+1⁄4 in) wide, spongy, creeping, and branching. The leaves are submerged or floating. The ovate to oblong leaf is 10–45 cm (4–17+1⁄2 in) long and 7–30 cm (3–12 in) wide. The terete petiole is up to 2 m (6+1⁄2 ft) long.

The flowers are solitary, pedunculate, bisexual, and 5–10 cm wide. They float on the water surface or extend beyond it. They have (6–)9(–12) green to bright yellow sepals, which occasionally have a red base. The 10–20 green to yellow, thick petals are hidden by the stamens. The fruit is ovoid to cylindric, strongly ribbed, 4–6(–9) cm long, and 3.5–6 cm wide. It bears seeds 4 millimetres (1⁄8 in) in length.

The chromosome count is 2n = 34.

Taxonomy

It was published by George Engelmann in 1866. The lectotype specimen was collected by C. C. Parry in Osborn's Lake, Colorado, in 1864. It is placed in the section Nuphar sect. Astylus.

Etymology

The specific epithet polysepala means "with many sepals".

Distribution and habitat

It is native to western North America. It is commonly found in shallow muddy ponds from northern Alaska and Yukon southward to central California and northern New Mexico, and can be recognized easily by its large floating leaves and bright yellow blossoms.

It occurs in slowly flowing streams, ponds, and lakes in up to 2,4 m deep water.[clarification needed]

Ecology

It is pollinated by flies and beetles and provides shelter for fish.

Conservation

The NatureServe conservation status is T5 Secure.

The Wokas season, photograph by Edward S. Curtis

Uses

The seeds are edible; they pop like popcorn, and can be steamed as a vegetable, dried and ground for flour, or can be cooked like oatmeal. Historically they have been a significant source of carbohydrates for the Klamath and Modoc peoples who inhabit the area near Oregon's Upper Klamath Lake.

The leaves and rootstocks have traditionally been used for ulcerous skin conditions and swelling. The rootstock infusion is used as a traditional gargle for mouth, sore throats and douche for vaginal inflammation. One cup of boiling water is used for two tablespoons of chopped rhizome.

References

  1. 1 2 Nuphar lutea ssp. polysepala. (n.d.). NatureServe. Retrieved December 7, 2024, from https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.155521/Nuphar_lutea_ssp_polysepala
  2. 1 2 3 Nuphar polysepala Engelm. (n.d.). Plants of the World Online. Retrieved February 2, 2025, from https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1021676-2
  3. ↑ John Merle Coulter; University of Chicago; M.S. Coulter; Charles Reid Barnes; Joseph Charles Arthur (1904). Botanical Gazette. University of Chicago Press. p. 396.
  4. ↑ Skinner, Megan M. (July 2016). Restoration Plan for Wocus (Nuphar lutea polysepala) in Upper Klamath Basin, Oregon (PDF). Natural Resources Department, The Klamath Tribes of Chiloquin, Oregon.
  5. 1 2 Nuphar polysepala Engelm. (n.d.). Calflora. Retrieved February 2, 2025, from https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=10994
  6. 1 2 Nuphar polysepala Engelmann. (n.d.). Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN). Retrieved February 2, 2025, from https://data.canadensys.net/vascan/taxon/6714
  7. ↑ Klinger, Jesse T. (Jesse Tyler), "The Associations of Epiphytic Macroinvertebrates and Aquatic Macrophytes in Canyon Lake, WA" (2018). WWU Graduate School Collection. 729. https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/729
  8. ↑ Merrick, Samantha; Matthews, Robin A.; and Vandersypen, Joan, "Reed Lake 2013 Aquatic Plant Survey" (2013). Reed Lake. 1. https://cedar.wwu.edu/iws_reed/1
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Nuphar polysepala in Flora of North America @ efloras.org. (n.d.). Retrieved February 2, 2025, from http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500817
  10. 1 2 3 DiTomaso, J. M., Healy, E. A. (2003). Aquatic and riparian weeds of the West. p. 110. USA: University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources.
  11. ↑ Nuphar lutea ssp. polysepala. (n.d.). Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - the University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved February 2, 2025, from https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=NULUP
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 WTU Herbarium, Burke Museum, University of Washington. (n.d.). Nuphar polysepala. Burke Herbarium. Retrieved February 2, 2025, from https://burkeherbarium.org/imagecollection/taxon.php?Taxon=Nuphar%20polysepala
  13. 1 2 3 Nuphar polysepala. (n.d.). Washington Native Plant Society. Retrieved February 2, 2025, from https://www.wnps.org/native-plant-directory/171-nuphar-polysepala
  14. 1 2 3 Wildflowers of the Rocky Mountain Region. (2018). USA: Timber Press.
  15. ↑ Nuphar polysepalum Engelm. (n.d.). Alaskaflora. Retrieved February 2, 2025, from http://alaskaflora.org/hulten/do?method=detail&id=450-2
  16. ↑ Nuphar polysepala Engelm (Engelm.) E.O. Beal. (n.d.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia. Retrieved February 2, 2025, from https://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Nuphar%20polysepala&noTransfer=0
  17. ↑ Pellicer, J., Kelly, L. J., Magdalena, C., & Leitch, I. J. (2013). Insights into the dynamics of genome size and chromosome evolution in the early diverging angiosperm lineage Nymphaeales (water lilies). Genome, 56(8), 437-449.
  18. ↑ Academy of Science of St. Louis. (1860). Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis (Vol. 2, p. 282). Academy of Science of St. Louis]. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5787992
  19. 1 2 Nuphar polysepala Engelm. (n.d.-b). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved February 2, 2025, from https://www.ipni.org/n/1021676-2
  20. ↑ 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
  21. 1 2 3 Schofield, J.J. (1989). Marshes, Ponds, and Wet Places in Alaska, Western Canada, and the Northwest. pp. 53–55. ISBN 0-88240-355-9.
  22. ↑ "Indians Turn Klamath Lake Lilies into Diet Staple". Jefferson Public Radio. 2015-01-26. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved 2015-02-26.