Practical
Plants

Nymphaea tetragona

Pygmy Water Lily

a perennial member of the Nymphaea genus in the family Nymphaeaceae.

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Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
perennial
Fertility
Self fertile, Flies, Self
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Flies, Self

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Root[2][3]. No more details are given.

Plant part
Root
Plant part
Seed

Environment

Range
N.E. Europe to E. Asia and eastern N. America.
Habitat
Ponds and shallow lakes in Japan[9].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
aquatic
Hardiness
Zone 2+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse in pots submerged under 25mm of water. Prick out into individual pots as soon as the first true leaf appears and grow them on in water in a greenhouse for at least two years before planting them out in late spring. The seed is collected by wrapping the developing seed head in a muslin bag to avoid the seed being lost. Harvest it 10 days after it sinks below the soil surface or as soon as it reappears[4]. Division in May. Each portion must have at least one eye. Submerge in pots in shallow water until established[8].

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

A water plant requiring a rich soil and a sunny position in still[4][7]. Prefers a pH between 6 and 7[4]. Best grown in 15 - 30cm of water[4]. There are two basic types of plant in this genus (this species is a clumper):- 'crawlers' are species with horizontal roots that often spread freely, with new plants being formed at intervals along the root. These species are useful for naturalising, but they do not flower very freely in the cool summers of Britain[5]. 'clumpers' have vertical roots, they form slowly spreading clumps and produce offsets around the crown. These forms flower much more freely in Britain[5]. A very ornamental plant[1].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩

  2. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

    ↩

  3. Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169

    ↩

  4. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

  5. Matthews. V. The New Plantsman. Volume 1, 1994. Royal Horticultural Society 1994-00-00 ISBN 1352-4186

    ↩1↩2

  6. Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970-00-00 ISBN 0-486-22642-5

  7. Harris. B. C. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health 1973-00-00

    ↩

  8. Muhlberg. H. Complete Guide to Water Plants. E. P. Publishing Ltd. 1982-00-00 ISBN 0-7158-0789-7

    ↩

  9. Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965-00-00

    ↩

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