Cook Islands Biodiversity Database

Species Page

Back to: «« Search Page | « Results Page

Add to My List

Nymphaea capensis cvs.

Riri Vai

Cape Blue Water-Lily

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Leaves and flowers (blue and pink)	70KB
Image:	Blue Flower	62KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Cape Blue Water-Lily, Cape Water Lily, Blue Water Lily, Pink Water Lily; German Blaue Lotosblume; French Nenuphar

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Riri Vai (RR MG AT MK), Riri Moe-vai (AK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE se.Africa - Madagascar

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent (post-1930), Naturalised; S.Group - widespread and common; Freshwater, wetlands - ponds

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornamental flowers; Weed - very minor

KEY FEATURES: Aquatic herb in water to 1m. LEAVES floating, round, to 40cmØ, green, uneven round-tipped teeth, purple margin. FLOWERS open during morning and submerge at night, to 20cmØ; sepals 4, outside green; petals numerous (20-30), narrow-oval, blue to white, or pink to reddish; stamens very numerous, each yellow and blue.

Enlarged Image of 'Nymphaea capensis cvs.'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
++++	++++	+++	++	-	+++	-	-	-

Northern Group: -
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Nymphaea capensis cvs. Thunb.
SYNONYMS: Nymphaea capensis var. capensis [blue petals with yellow base]; Nymphaea capensis var. rosea [pink petals]

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); MAGNOLIIDAE; Nymphaeales; NYMPHAEACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Ornamental flowers
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Weed - very minor. Comments: Widespread in the waterways of lowland Taro swamps. Sometimes requires control.

IDENTIFICATION: Aquatic herb with floating leaves, in water to 1m. LEAVES floating, round, to 40cmØ, basal slit almost to stalk, green; margin with uneven rounded teeth, edge purple. FLOWERS to 20cmØ; sepals 4, triangular, outer green , inner pink or blue; petals 20-30, blue to white, or pink to reddish, narrow-oval to 9x2cm; stamens very numerous, inner section yellow, outer blue; open during the day, drawn below the surface at night. Blue is the typical variety, while the pink is a sport of Nymphaea capensis var. zanzibariensis [Conrad 1905].

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.348 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.789 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.704 Tropica
p.2/147 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.398f Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02, zupD04a

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
Please refer to our use policy.

Biodiversity Database: More Options | Help

My List: View List | Edit List | Clear List