Water Lily folio 2v stalk remedy

[-JKP-]

There is a plant in the Gulf Coast, in a very limited range (and not near the Mayan section), that probably wasn't discovered by the early colonists that does match this plant quite well.

Might I ask which plant this is?

I actually have two.

If you look at Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia asarifolia) you will find it has the correct leaf shape, the correct veins, a prominent protruding style and, when partially open, petals fairly similar to the VMS. It also sets out rhizomes. In terms of the flower and overall morphology, it's a little closer than Asarum europaea and much closer than Nuphar (water lily). Parnassia fimbriata is similar (and has the fringed petals and protruding style) but has a longer stem. I think P. fimbriata is circumboreal (northern) but I would have to check.


Now, the second one took me months to find, so I'm passing on hard-won knowledge. It is similar to Nymphoides indica but is a closer match for the VMS plant's protruding style and not always as frilled as N. indica. In other words, N. indica is a reasonably good candidate for the VMS plant, and sometimes has a protruding style (though not typically hirsute like hibiscus), but the Gulf plant is close, as well.

It's called Villarsia humboldtiana and grows in the southeast Gulf Coast (I guess it does cross into Mayan territory) but it's not a common plant. At the time I was researching it (in 2009) there was almost zero information about it on the Web, there appears to be quite a bit more now. It could easily be mistaken for N. indica except for the darkish protruding style and they originally classified it as Nymphoides based on this similarity.



In my opinion, Asarum, Parnassia and Nymphoides more closely match the features of the VMS plant than the familiar water lily and Asarum falls behind if you consider the style (I'm talking about the plant part called the style). Even Nephrophllidium crista-galli (which has a very limited range and is probably not a candidate) matches more closely than water lily (especially the flower petals), except that the leaf margins are scalloped.

Nelumbo, Nuphar, and Nymphaea only match the leaf and rhizome, not the flower, and just because some people jumped to the conclusion that it's a water lily based on the shape of the leaf does not mean that terrestrial plants like Parnassia should not be considered. They often have rhizomes very similar to water lilies, especially if it's a wetland plant.


It could be water lily with an inaccurately drawn flower, but it could also be one of the species I mentioned that matches all of the features more closely.