Nymphaeales

Nymphaeales Temporal range: 130–0 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N Early Cretaceous - Recent
Nymphaea lotus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
Order:	Nymphaeales Salisb. ex Bercht. & J.Presl[1]
Families
Cabombaceae Hydatellaceae Nymphaeaceae

Nymphaeales is an order of flowering plants, consisting of three families of aquatic plants, the Hydatellaceae, the Cabombaceae, and the Nymphaeaceae (water lilies). It is one of the three orders of basal angiosperms, an early-diverging grade of flowering plants. At least 10 morphological characters unite the Nymphaeales.^[2] Molecular synapomorphies are also known.

The Plant List, created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden recognizes about 70 species in 11 genera within the order,^[3] but a phylogenetic study of the genus Nymphaea implies that the number of species could be more than 90.^[4] The difference in species numbers is due almost entirely to the difficulty of delineating species in the genus Nymphaea.

All of the species are rhizomatous aquatic herbs with a broad leaf base and large showy flowers.

Fossils

The fossil record consists especially of seeds, but also pollen, stems, leaves, and flowers. It extends back to the Cretaceous.^[5][6] The crown group of Nymphaeales has been estimated to be about 112 million years old.^[7] Some have suggested that this age might be too old.^[8]

It is possible that the aquatic plant fossil Archaefructus belongs to this group.^[9]

Classification

The Nymphaeales currently includes three families and about 70 to 90 species.

order Nymphaeales Cabombaceae Brasenia (1 species) Cabomba (5 species) Hydatellaceae Trithuria (12 species) Nymphaeaceae Barclaya (3-4 species) Euryale (1 species) Nuphar (10-12 species) Nymphaea (35-50 species) Victoria (2 species)	Angiosperms Amborella Nymphaeales Hydatellaceae Cabombaceae Nymphaeaceae Austrobaileyales magnoliids Chloranthales monocots Ceratophyllum eudicots
The classification of Nymphaeales and phylogeny within the flowering plants, as of APG III (2009).

This order was not part of the APG II system's 2003 plant classification (unchanged from the APG system of 1998), which instead had a broadly circumscribed family Nymphaeaceae (including Cabombaceae) unplaced in any order. The APG III system did separate Cabombaceae from Nymphaeaceae and placed them in the order Nymphaeales together with Hydatellaceae. This Hydatellaceae was placed among the monocots in previous systems, but a 2007 study found that the family belongs to Nymphaeales.^[10]

Some earlier systems, such as Cronquist's system of 1981, often included the Ceratophyllaceae and Nelumbonaceae in the Nymphaeales. Although, the Takhtajan system of 1980 separated the Nelumbonales, the new order was retained alongside the Nymphaeales in the superorder Nymphaeanae.

The Cronquist system placed the Nymphaeales in subclass Magnoliidae, in class Magnoliopsida [=dicotyledons]. In addition, Cronquist included the Ceratophyllaceae and split the family Barclayaceae from the Nymphaeaceae. Under the APG II system, the family Cambombaceae was included within the Nymphaeaceae, but could optionally be recognized separately. As of APG III, the two families are recognized separately.

The Dahlgren system placed Nymphaeales together with the Piperales in superorder Nymphaeanae, within subclass Magnoliideae (dicotyledons). Thorne's 1992 system (and 2000 revision) placed Nymphaeales as the sole order in the superorder Nymphaeanae within subclass Magnoliideae (=dicotyledons).

Comparison of the Nymphaeales across five systems

APG III system[1] Nymphaeales	Takhtajan system[11] Nymphaeales	Cronquist system[12] Nymphaeales	Dahlgren system[13] Nymphaeales	Thorne system (1992)[14] & (2000)[15] Nymphaeales
Hydatellaceae	among monocots, as Hydatellales
Cabombaceae	Cabombaceae Brasenia, Cabomba	Cabombaceae Brasenia, Cabomba	Cabombaceae	Cabombaceae Brasenia, Cabomba
Nymphaeaceae	Nymphaeaceae subf. Barclayoideae, Euryaloideae, Nymphaeoideae	Barclayaceae Barclaya	Nymphaeaceae	Nymphaeaceae Barclaya, Euryale, Nuphar, Nymphaea, Ondinea, Victoria
		Nymphaeaceae Euryale, Nuphar, Nymphaea, Ondinea, Victoria
sister to eudicot clade	Ceratophyllaceae	Ceratophyllaceae	Ceratophyllaceae	in Ranunculanae
in Proteales	in Nelumbonales	Nelumbonaceae	in Magnolianae

References

1. Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x.
2. Peter F. Stevens. 2001 onwards. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see External links below).
3. The Plant List (website). 2010. (See External links below.)
4. Borsch, Thomas; Löhne, Cornelia; Samba Mbaye, Mame; Wiersema, John H. (2011). "Towards a complete species tree of Nymphaea: shedding further light on subg. Brachyceras and its relationships to the Australian water-lilies". Telopea 13 (1-2): 193–217.
5. "Nymphaeales: Fossil Record". University of California Museum of Paleontology.
6. 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 (6826): 357–360. doi:10.1038/35066557. PMID 11268209.
7. Magallón, Susana; Castillo, Amanda (2009). "Angiosperm diversification through time". American Journal of Botany 96 (1): 349–365. doi:10.3732/ajb.0800060. PMID 21628193.
8. Bell, Charles D.; Soltis, Douglas E.; Soltis, Pamela S. (2010). "The age and diversification of the angiosperms re-revisited". American Journal of Botany 97 (8): 1296–1303. doi:10.3732/ajb.0900346. PMID 21616882.
9. Soltis, D. E.; Bell, CD; Kim, S; Soltis, PS (June 2008). "The Year in Evolutionary Biology 2008". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1133 (1): 3–25. doi:10.1196/annals.1438.005. PMID 18559813.
10. Saarela, J. M.; et al. (2007). "Hydatellaceae identified as a new branch near the base of the angiosperm phylogenetic tree". Nature 446 (7133): 312–5. doi:10.1038/nature05612. PMID 17361182.
11. Takhtajan, Armen L. (1980). "Outline of the classification of flowering plants (Magnoliophyta)". The Botanical Review 46 (3): 225–359. doi:10.1007/BF02861558.
12. Cronquist, Arthur (1981). An Integrated System of Classification of Flowering Plants. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-03880-1.
13. Dahlgren, R.M.T. (1980). "A revised system of classification of angiosperms". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 80 (2): 91–124. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1980.tb01661.x.
14. Thorne, R. F. (1992). "Classification and geography of the flowering plants". Botanical Review 58 (3): 225–348. doi:10.1007/BF02858611.
15. Thorne, R. F. (2000). "The classification and geography of the flowering plants: Dicotyledons of the class Angiospermae". Botanical Review 66 (4): 441–647. doi:10.1007/BF02869011.

Sources

• Michael G. Simpson. Plant Systematics. Elsevier Academic Press. 2006.
• Thomas N. Taylor, Edith L. Taylor, and Michael Krings. 2008. Paleobotany: The Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants, Second Edition. Academic Press (an imprint of Elsevier): Burlington MA, USA. ISBN 978-0-12-373972-8

External links

• Nymphaeales At: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website At: botanical databases At: Plant Science At: Missouri Botanical Garden
• Data related to Nymphaeales at Wikispecies