Nymphaea nouchali, often known by itssynonymNymphaea stellata, or bycommon namesblue lotus,[3]star lotus,red water lily,dwarf aquarium lily,blue water lily,blue star water lily ormanel flower, is awater lily of genusNymphaea. It is native to southern and eastern parts of Asia, and is thenational flower ofBangladesh andSri Lanka. InSanskrit it is calledutpala. This species is usually considered to include the blue Egyptian lotusN. nouchali var.caerulea.[4] In the past, taxonomic confusion has occurred, with the nameNymphaea nouchali incorrectly applied toNymphaea pubescens.[5]
N. nouchali is a day-blooming non-viviparous plant with submerged roots and stems. Part of the leaves are submerged, while others rise slightly above the surface. The leaves are round and green on top; they usually have a darker underside. The floating leaves have undulating edges that give them acrenellated appearance. Their size is about 20–23 cm (7.9–9.1 in) and their spread is up to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) from the rhizome.[6]
This water lily has a beautiful flower which is usually white or blue in color. Its variants occur in white, blue, violet, purple, pink & cream/yellowish white colours. The flower has four or fivesepals and 13-15petals that have an angular appearance, making the flower look star-shaped from above. The cup-likecalyx has a diameter of 4–15 cm (1.6–5.9 in).
This aquatic plant is native in a broad region fromAfghanistan, theIndian subcontinent, toTaiwan, southeast Asia and Australia.[2][3] It has been long valued as a garden flower inThailand andMyanmar to decorate ponds and gardens. In its natural state,N. nouchali is found in static or slow-flowing aquatic habitats of low to moderate depth.[citation needed]
N. nouchali is the national flower ofBangladesh.[20] A pale blue-floweredN. nouchali is thenational flower ofSri Lanka, where it is known asnil mānel ornil mahanel (නිල් මානෙල්).[21]
In Sri Lanka, this plant usually grows inbuffalo ponds and naturalwetlands.Its beautiful aquatic flower has been mentioned inSanskrit,Pali, and Sinhala literary works since ancient times under the nameskuvalaya,indhīwara,niluppala,nilothpala, andnilupul as a symbol of virtue, discipline, and purity.Buddhist lore in Sri Lanka claims that this flower was one of the 108 auspicious signs found on PrinceSiddhartha's footprint.[22] It is said that when Buddha died, lotus flowers blossomed everywhere he had walked in his lifetime.[citation needed]
N. nouchali is used as an ornamental plant because of its spectacular flowers, and is most commonly used for the traditional and cultural festivals in Sri Lanka. It is also popular as an aquarium plant under the name "dwarf lily" or "dwarf red lily".[citation needed] Sometimes, it is grown for its flowers, while other aquarists prefer to trim the lily pads, and just have the underwater foliage.[citation needed]
Like all water lilies, its pear-shaped, brown cottony-covered, potato-sizedrhizomes, leaves and most of the plant are poisonous, and contain analkaloid callednupharin. Unlike European species, this can (and must) be neutralised in the rhizomes of this species by boiling. In India these have been eaten as afamine food or as a medicinal. InVietnam it was eaten roasted. InSri Lanka it was formerly eaten as a type of medicine and its price was too high to serve as a normal meal, but in the 1940s some villagers began to cultivate the water lilies in thepaddy fields left uncultivated during themonsoon season (Yala season), and the price dropped. It is eaten boiled and in curries. Thetubers of this species are completely edible, during thedry season they consist almost entirely of starch, and were eaten inWest Africa, usually boiled or roasted.[24]
The dried plant is collected from ponds, tanks, and marshes during the dry season and used in India as animalforage.[25]
^Guruge, S., Yakandawala, D., & Yakandawala, K. (2017). A taxonomic synopsis ofNymphaea nouchali Burm. f. and infraspecific taxa. Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka, 45(3).
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