Nuphar microphylla is a perennial, rhizomatous, aquatic herb found in North America. It is listed as a special concern and believed extirpated in Connecticut.
Nuphar microphylla is a perennial, rhizomatous, aquatic herb with 1âÂÂ2 cm wide rhizomes. The ovate to broadly elliptic, 3.5âÂÂ10(âÂÂ13) cm long, and 3.5âÂÂ7.5(âÂÂ8.5) cm wide floating leaves have a deep sinus. The abaxial leaf surface is often purple. The leaf venation is pinnate.
The small, yellow to green, 1âÂÂ2 cm wide flowers float on the water surface. The red stigmatic disks are 2.5âÂÂ7 mm wide.
The chromosome count is 2n = 34.
It was first published as Nymphaea microphylla by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1806. It was placed into the genus Nuphar as Nuphar microphylla published by Merritt Lyndon Fernald in 1917. It is placed in the section Nuphar sect. Nuphar. It is a parent species of the natural hybrid Nuphar ÃÂ rubrodisca
The specific epithet microphylla means small-leaved.
It occurs in ponds, marshes, and lakes.
It is endangered in the US-american states Pennsylvania, Michigan, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. It is susceptible to pollution, e.g., by herbicides meant to combat invasive weeds. It is also threatened by invasive plants.