Waterlily Pollination

Research into the pollination of the tropical waterlily Nymphaea lotus has been undertaken on natural populations of plants growing in Senegal, West Africa. This is the first time that a serious study has been undertaken into the behaviour of this beautiful and historically important waterlily. The flowers of N.lotususually open for three successive nights. They serve as receptive female blossoms on the first night and as pollen-bearing male flowers on the succeeding two nights. Upon opening, the flowers are scented, the warmer temperature within the blossoms increasing slightly at nightfall and aiding the dispersal of the fragrance. The scent is an attractant to beetles, in this case a scarab beetle, Ruteloryctes morio.

The beetles visit the first night blossoms. Here they enter the flower, often mating within its embrace and at the same time eating some of the petal tissue. All this activity results in the transfer of any pollen that they may be carrying from previously visited flowers on to the stigma. The beetles use the protection of the flower for that night and the following day, moving on as the flower opens during the second night, at the same time taking fresh pollen with them. After the third night those flowers that have been fertilized sink below the water.

During the experiments, flowers that had been placed in a muslin bag to prevent pollination, opened for a fourth night. Clearly fertilization is the trigger that causes the flower to fade.The scent produced by the flowers was analysed and twenty-three different chemicals were isolated. Although the particular chemicals isolated are not common in flowers, they are often present in those that are pollinated by beetles. During the research no other pollinating vectors were observed. This all provides useful background information for the modern waterlily breeder.

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