Nymphoides coronata was firstly found in the northeast of Guangdong, China in 1912. Due to the impact of human activities, habitat destruction and environmental pollution, the populations became locally extinct, and no living plants or specimens were found by researchers until recently. In 2000, Flora of Guangdong recorded it as a questionable species, Nymphoides coronata (Dunn) Chun ined. just from the incomplete type specimen. 

Scientists of Wuhan Botanical Garden collected some specimens and living plants of Nymphoides from Wenchang, Hainan, China in Dec.2013. Prof. WANG Qingfeng and his research team carefully examined the collected samples, and found that the morphological characters of inflorescences and stigmas of these plants were different from N. peltata, and from the other Nymphoides taxa all around the world. They found that this species was same as Limnanthemum coronatum in most aspects, especially in the characters of stigma and the three fimbriate appendents on the base of corolla lobes of long styled flowers. 

After a comprehensive comparison, researchers convinced that these samples were  Limnanthemum coronatum Dunn, which was about 100-year-lost species endemic to South China, and validly publishedit as Nymphoides coronata (Dunn) Chun ex Y.D. Zhou & G.W. Hu.   

The discovery of the 100-year-lost species will play an important role in studying the phylogeny and biogeography of Nymphoides of China and the world.  

Results were published in Phytotaxa entitled “Reappraisal ofNymphoides coronata(Menyanthaceae), A 100-year-lost Species Endemic to South China”. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Special Foundation for State Basic Working Program of China.