Nuphar pumila is an aquatic plant that can purify water bodies.

Nuphar pumila, also known as golden lotus or Nuphar pumila lotus, is a plant in the genus Nuphar of the family Nymphaeaceae. The genus contains about 25 species. It blooms in early summer and is an extremely important ornamental plant in summer waterscape gardens. Its Latin species epithet pumilum means "dwarf."

Nuphar pumila

Nuphar shimadai was collected in 1915 by Japanese botanist Yaichi Shimada in Xinpu, Hsinchu County, and was published as a new species by Japanese botanist Bunzo Hayata in 1916 in the Illustrated Flora of Taiwan. The species name shimadai commemorates its collector, Shimada, and the type specimen (Isotype) is preserved in the Herbarium of the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute. This plant is characterized by nearly circular leaves, with many hairs on the underside of the leaves, though these are not easily seen with the naked eye and require a dissecting microscope to observe clearly. In addition, the stigma tip is split, with red coloration on both sides of each lobe, making Nuphar shimadai more ornamental than other species of Nuphar.

Nuphar pumila

Compared with water lilies, most people are less familiar with "Nuphar shimadai," for the simple reason that Nuphar shimadai was originally quite rare in Taiwan and is distributed only in a few ponds in Longtan, Taoyuan. Although there are collection records from Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Nantou in the western part of the province, the lack of more detailed information makes it difficult today to understand the past distribution and abundance of this plant.

Nuphar pumila

It can be potted in courtyards, near buildings, in front of rockery stones, or placed in a sunny spot in front of a residence. Its roots have the function of purifying water bodies. In years of famine, the seeds could be pounded into rice for food. Experiments have shown that of the CH4 produced in the bottom sediment where Nuphar pumila is planted, three quarters is released through the Nuphar pumila stems; during the day, the CH4 concentration in the root system reaches 10%, while the concentration in the young stems extending above the water surface is greatly reduced. Not only living plants are the main release channels for trace gases; dead plants are also channels for the release of gases such as CH4 from the bottom sediment. Brix's research showed that dead reed stems are still the main channels for CH4 release from the bottom sediment, and even in winter, the maximum CH4 release rate through dead reed leaves can reach 64 mL m-2d-1.