Overview
Nymphaeales is a at the rank of order. When recognized, it includes water lilies and sometimes other aquatic plants. This order is not part of the APG II system's 2003 plant classification (unchanged from the APG system of 1998), which instead has a broadly circumscribed family Nymphaeaceae (including Cabombaceae) unplaced in any order. It is recognized by some systems of plant taxonomy, but others use different placements for the families in this order. In particular some plant systematists using the APG II system now use this order and circumscribe it to include the Nymphaeaceae and Cabombaceae. A 2007 study has found that Hydatellaceae also belongs to this group.1]
This order is considered to be a basal, or early diverging, group of angiosperms. The families of this order are united by being families of aquatic herbs and are known from the fossil record as early as theLower Cretaceous.
Fossils
The fossil record consists especially of seeds, and also pollen, stems, leaves, and flowers. It extends back to the Cretaceous.[2][3]
It is posssible that the aquatic plant fossil Archaefructus belongs to this group.[4]
Classification
The current phylogenetic placement (based on the APG II system, with subsequent revisions) is:
The family Cambombaceae is included within the Nymphaeaceae in the APG II system, but may optionally be recognized separately.
Cronquist
The Cronquist system, of 1981, placed it in subclass Magnoliidae, in class Magnoliopsida [=dicotyledons] of division Magnoliophyta [=angiosperms]. It used this circumscription:
- order Nymphaeales
Thorne (1992)
The Thorne system (1992) placed it in superorder Nymphaeanae in subclass Magnoliideae [=dicotyledons] in class Magnoliopsida [=angiosperms]. It used this circumscription:
- order Nymphaeales
- family Cabombaceae
- family Nymphaeaceae
Dahlgren
The Dahlgren system placed it in superorder Nymphaeanae, in subclass Magnoliideae [=dicotyledons], in class Magnoliopsida [=angiosperms]. It used this circumscription:
- order Nymphaeales
- family Cabombaceae
- family Nymphaeaceae
- family Ceratophyllaceae
Photos
Taxonomy
The Order Nymphaeales is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Family (3): Barclayaceae · Nupharaceae · Nymphaeaceae
- Species: ZipcodeZoo has pages for 1,697 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in the Order Nymphaeales.
Families
Barclayaceae
Nupharaceae
Nymphaeaceae
Herbs perennial or rarely annual, aquatic. Stems rhizomatous; rhizomes erect or repent, branched or unbranched. Leaves arising from rhizome, simple, alternate, floating, emersed, or submersed, long petiolate but short petiolate on submersed vernal ones; leaf blade undivided, usually with a basal sinus, often peltate. Flowers solitary, axillary, long pedunculate, bisexual, hypogynous to epigynous, actinomorphic, entomophilous, mostly emergent. Sepals 4--7, usually green, occasionally petaloid. Petals numerous (rarely absent), distinct, usually showy, often transitional to stamens. Stamens numerous; anthers introrse, dehiscent by longitudinal slits; connective sometimes appendaged. Pistil 1, compound; carpels 5--many, partially or completely united, surrounding a sometimes projecting floral axis. Ovary multilocular; placentation laminar; ovules numerous. Styles absent or modified into abaxially projecting carpellary appendages. Stigmas radiate on distal surface, often disclike. Fruit berrylike, many seeded, irregularly dehiscent. Seeds mostly arillate; endosperm little, perisperm abundant; embryo small; cotyledons 2, fleshy.[1] [more]
At least 1,637 species and subspecies belong to the Family Nymphaeaceae.
More info about the Family Nymphaeaceae may be found here.
References
- ^ Saarela et al (2007). "Hydatellaceae identified as a new branch near the base of the angiosperm phylogenetic tree". Nature 446 (7133): 312–5. doi:
- ^ "Nymphaeales: Fossil Record". University of California Museum of Paleontology.
- ^ Else Marie Friis, Kaj Raunsgaard Pedersen and Peter R. Crane (15 March 2001). "Fossil evidence of water lilies (Nymphaeales) in the Early Cretaceous". Nature 410: 357–360. doi:
- ^ Soltis, D. E. (published June 2008). "The Year in Evolutionary Biology 2008". Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1133: 3–25. doi:
Bibliography
- Kuan Ke-chien. 1979. Nymphaeaceae subfam. Nymphaeoideae. Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 27: 615.
Footnotes
- Dezhi Fu, John H. Wiersema & Donald Padgett "Nymphaeaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 6 Page 115. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.
Sources
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