Endangered pygmy water-lilies bloom in SW China’s Yunnan

Photo shows blooming Nymphaea tetragona Georgi, a rare species of flowering plant commonly called pygmy water-lily in Eryuan county, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture of southwest China’s Yunnan Province. (Photo/Luo Xincai)

Nymphaea tetragona Georgi, a rare species of flowering plant commonly called pygmy water-lily, is in full blossom at farmers’ ponds near Cibi Lake in Eryuan county, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture of southwest China’s Yunnan Province.

Nymphaea tetragona Georgi is an aquatic perennial belonging to the family Nymphaeaceae. Its flowers open around noon and close in the afternoon.

Nymphaea tetragona Georgi inhabits pristine waters, provides food for fish, and grows slowly. The flowering plant was once widely distributed in Cibi Lake, but is now rarely seen in the lake.

In recent years, to protect the rare pygmy water-lilies, which are on the verge of extinction, farmers near Cibi Lake voluntarily grow the flowering plants in their ponds.

Over the past two years, experts have found wild Nymphaea tetragona Georgi in other lakes of Cangshan Mountain and Eryuan county, bringing new hope to the protection of the flowering plant.