ylivalotus

Ylivalotus is a fictional genus of aquatic flowering plants created for speculative botany and worldbuilding. The name blends a constructed stem, “Yli-,” with “lotus,” to evoke water-loving forms. In the imaginary taxonomy, Ylivalotus is placed in the family Yliaceae, within the order Nymphaeales, though no real specimens exist.

Description: Species in Ylivalotus are aquatic perennials with emergent, rounded to oblong leaves carried on long petioles. Leaves are typically over 20 cm across and form dense mats in suitable waters. Flowers are cup-shaped, solitary, and rise above the surface; colors range from white to pale pink, often featuring a central yellow nectar cup. The plants root in submerged rhizomes and spread gradually.

Species: The genus comprises two described species: Ylivalotus aureus, with golden-yellow flowers and pale foliage, and Ylivalotus alba, with white flowers and greenish leaves.

Distribution and habitat: In the fictional setting, Ylivalotus is endemic to freshwater lakes and slow rivers of the archipelago of Lyris, favoring shallow margins and nutrient-rich sediments that support buoyant growth.

Ecology and reproduction: Pollination is attributed to bees and aquatic insects that visit the flowers, with some hydrophilous pollen transfer possible between floating leaves. Seeds are dispersed by water currents and, occasionally, by animals disturbing the mud.

Conservation and use: In stories, Ylivalotus is valued as an ornamental pond plant and as a subject for ecological restoration in calm wetlands. In fiction, its habitats face eutrophication and loss, yielding a vulnerable-like dynamic.

Taxonomic history: The genus is said to have been described by the fictional botanist I. Solis in 2141 and appears mainly in speculative floras and worldbuilding sources.