Nymphaea thermarum
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Nymphaea thermarum faces extinction due to the complete loss of its sole natural habitat at Mashyuza hot springs in Rwanda, where the thermal spring dried up in 2008. The species now exists only in cultivation at Kew Gardens and a few other botanical institutions. Human activities including agricultural expansion and water extraction in the surrounding area contributed to the spring's disappearance, while the species' extremely narrow habitat requirements make natural recolonization impossible.
Habitat
This aquatic plant was endemic to a single thermal spring at Mashyuza in Rwanda, where it grew in shallow, warm mineral-rich waters with temperatures around 25-27°C. The species required the specific geothermal conditions and water chemistry of this unique freshwater spring ecosystem.
