Notes on the floral biology of Nymphaea elegans (nymphaeaceae) in Texas

Various aspects of the pollination biology and floral behavior of Nymphaea elegans Hooker (Nymphaeaceae) are described. Flowers open each morning for 3 successive days. First-day flowers are protogynous with the stigmata secreting a fluid which fills the perigynous cup. As potential pollen-covered pollinators are attracted and enter first-day flowers, they land on the vertical, but flexible, inner stamens which bend and the insects fall into the stigmatic fluid. The stigmatic fluid washes pollen from the insects and pollination is achieved. Second- and third-day flowers are functionally staminate, lacking the stigmatic fluid. The pollination biology of N. elegans is compared to the pollination syndromes described in other species of Nymphaea.