Euryale (plant) explained

Euryale is a genus of flowering plants of the family Nymphaeaceae.^[1]

Description

Vegetative characteristics

Euryale is an annual or perennial, rhizomatous, aquatic herb with erect, unbranched rhizomes.^[2] The adaxial leaf surface is green, and features prickles at the veins. The abaxial leaf surface is violet and displays prominent, prickly venation.^[3]

Generative characteristics

The pedunculate, 5 cm wide flowers have prickly peduncles and sepals.^[4] The stigma has 8-9 stigmatic rays. The prickly fruit bears black, smooth, arillate, globose, 6-10 mm wide seeds.

Taxonomy

Publication

It was published by Richard Anthony Salisbury in 1805.

Species

It has one extant species:

• Euryale ferox Salisb.

And several fossil species:

• †Euryale yunnanensis Y. Huang & Z. Zhou^[5]
• †Euryale nodulosa C. & E. M. Reid^[6]
• †Euryale europaea C. A. Weber^[7]
• †Euryale lissa Reid^[8]
• †Euryale akashiensis Miki^[9]
• †Euryale sukaczevii Dorof.
• †Euryale tenuicostata Dorof.
• †Euryale limburgensis C. & E. In. Reid.^[10]

Cytology

The chromosome count of Euryale ferox is 2n = 58.^[11]

Ecology

Habitat

It occurs in ponds, lakes, rice fields, and marshes.

Distribution

Euryale is found in the area that stretches from Northern India to the Russian Far East and extends into temperate East Asia. Recently, it has also been recorded in Serbia, Europe. It was likely dispersed to Serbia through migrating birds.^[12]

Conservation

The IUCN conservation status of Euryale ferox is least concern (LC).^[13]

Fossil record

Euryale seeds and prickles are well preserved in the fossil record.^[14] Today, Euryale only occurs in the region spanning from Northern India to the Russian Far East, and extends to temperate East Asia. But in the Pliocene period it also occurred in central Europe.^[15]

Notes and References

1. 27994-1 . Euryale Salisb. . 27 January 2024.
2. Euryale in Flora of China @ efloras.org. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2024, from http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=112398
3. Henkel, F., Rehnelt, F., Dittmann, L. (1907). "Das Buch der Nymphaeaceen oder Seerosengewächse." pp.45-46. Deutschland: Henkel.
4. Euryale ferox in Flora of China @ efloras.org. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2024, from http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200007078
5. Huang, Y., Ji, X., Su, T., Wang, L., Deng, C., Li, W., ... & Zhou, Z. (2015). "Fossil seeds of Euryale (Nymphaeaceae) indicate a lake or swamp environment in the late Miocene Zhaotong Basin of southwestern China." Science Bulletin, 60(20), 1768-1777.
6. Martinetto, E. (1998). "East Asian elements in the Plio-Pleistocene floras of Italy." In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Floristic Character Diversity of East Asian Plants (pp. 71-87). Berlin, Germany: Springer‐Verlag.
7. Weber, C. A. (1907). "22. C. A. Weber: Euryale europaea nov. sp. foss." Berichte Der Deutschen Botanischen Gesellschaft, 150–157.
8. Goren-Inbar, N., Melamed, Y., Zohar, I., Akhilesh, K., & Pappu, S. (2014). "Beneath still waters–multistage aquatic exploitation of Euryale ferox (Salisb.) during the Acheulian." Internet Archaeol, 37(10.11141).
9. Tanai, T. (1961). "Neogene floral change of Japan." Jour. Fac. Sci., Hokkaido Univ., Ser. 4, 11, 119-398.
10. Euryale limburgensis C. & E. In. Reid. [family NYMPHAEACEAE]. (n.d.). JSTOR. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.k000659202
11. Wu, P., Zhang, L., Zhang, K., Yin, Y., Liu, A., Zhu, Y., ... & Li, L. (2022). "The adaptive evolution of Euryale ferox to the aquatic environment through paleo‐hexaploidization." The Plant Journal, 110(3), 627-645.
12. Živković, M., Pejčić, L., Paskaš, N., Bajić, A., Šipoš, Š., Perić, R., & Novakovic, B. (02 2023). "First recent record of Prickly Waterlily (Euryale ferox) Salisb. (Nymphaeaceae) in freshwaters of Europe."
13. Zhuang, X. 2011. Euryale ferox. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011: e.T168756A6535154. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T168756A6535154.en. Accessed on 27 January 2024.
14. Villaret-von Rochow, M. (1958). Stacheln von Euryale sp. im norddeutschen Pleistozän : ein neues Interglazialfossil. Veröffentlichungen Des Geobotanischen Institutes Rübel in Zürich, 34. https://doi.org/10.5169/seals-308097
15. Kirchheimer, F. (1956). "Die Laubgewächse der Braunkohlenzeit." pp. 619-622.