Scientists welcome the world’s largest water lily
Looks like the science fraternity is on a high. After the recent discovery of the world’s largest bacterium, scientists have again found something else which is equally intriguing. Well, this time, it’s a giant water lily which may be the world’s largest species too and scientists are calling it Victoria boliviana. For the first time since the mid-19th century, a large-sized water lily has been traced by experts, growing in plain sight in London’s famous Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It remained hidden at the botanical garden for as long as 177 years. Interestingly, the same species was also being grown at the National Herbarium of Bolivia for the past 34 years. However, it was mistaken for two other giant varieties, known as Victoria amazonica and Victoria cruziana.
Victoria boliviana: A brand-new discovery
Though this discovery took so long to see the light of the day, scientists at this London Garden, for decades, had suspected that a species of giant water lily was already existent among us. In fact, they even worked in close association with their peers in Bolivia, as they considered it to be the flower’s native place. Looks like, their hypothesis was correct.
As it happened, in 2016, two Bolivian botanical institutions named Santa Cruz de la Sierra Botanic Garden and La Rinconada Gardens gave away a collection of their giant water lily seeds (from what they suspected was a new species) to London’s Kew Gardens. There, the seeds were germinated and grown, adjacent to two other known species, named Victoria amazonica and Victoria cruziana, named after Queen Victoria. Soon, the scientists from both Bolivia and London partnered to analyse the DNA of all the species, and realised they all had distinguished characteristics. However, what they found more interesting was that, along with these, a new species has also been around for millions of years. In fact, its specimens have been sitting quietly at London’s Kew Gardens itself for the past two centuries.
But why was it left undiscovered for so long? Well, there’s a lack of specimens around the world because it’s hard to pick these giant water lilies from their original wild habitat. However, this particular specimen was recovered from the wild by a Bolivian professor named Dr. Stephen G. Beck in March 1988. It was a tedious adventure, as Beck had to sail for hours across the flooded Yacuma River near the native wetlands to collect the specimen. However, he had categorised it as Victoria cruziana. But now, thanks to the efforts of the scientists at both London and Bolivia, especially horticulturist Carlos Magdalena (an expert of giant water lilies), the third species, Victoria boliviana, has come to the forefront.
Victoria boliviana at a glance
Native to the tropical Bolivian wetlands known as The Beni savanna or Llanos de Moxos, the leaves of Victoria boliviana have a striking height of three metres. This giant water lily drew its name from both Queen Victoria and its South American home. The flowers remain white during the day and turn pink in the night and has spiny petioles (stalk of a leaf attaching the blade to the stem).