萍蓬草 ping peng cao

Nymphaea lutea Linnaeus var. pumila Timm, Mag. Naturk. Oekon. Mecklenburgs 2: 250. 1795; Nuphar shimadae Hayata; Nymphaea lutea subsp. pumila (Timm) Bonnier & Layens; Nymphaea pumila (Timm) Hoffmann.

Rhizomes stout, 1--3 cm in diam. Petiole 20--50 cm, pubescent; floating leaf blade broadly ovate to ovate, seldom elliptic, 6--17 × 6--12 cm, abaxially glabrous to densely pubescent, adaxially glabrous, base cordate and basal lobes remote from each other. Flower 1--4.5(--6) cm in diam. Peduncle 40--50 cm, pubescent. Sepals yellow, oblong to elliptic, 1--2.5 cm. Petals narrowly cuneate to broadly linear, 5--7 mm, apex emarginate. Anthers yellow, 1--6 mm. Stigmatic disc deeply lobed, 4--7.5 mm in diam., rays 8--13(--14). Fruit 1--2 cm in diam. Seeds brown, oblong to ovoid, 3--5 mm. Fl. May--Sep. 2n = 34.

Lakes, ponds. Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Nei Mongol, Taiwan, Xinjiang, Zhejiang [Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia; N Europe].

The description of Nuphar shimadae clearly indicates that this taxon is conspecific with N. pumila ; however, it remains unclear as to which subspecies the plants in Taiwan should be referred, since no specimens were examined from that region.