Guyana’s National Flower, the Victoria Amazonica, has lost its record as the world’s largest water lily. Up to July, 2022, the Victoria Amazonica had boasted the title of the world’s largest water lily. However, a new water lily, called the Victoria Boliviana, has blown the Victoria Amazonica out the water and stolen its crown as the world’s largest water lily.
This photo shows the 6-year-old son of study co-author, Carlos Magdalena, sitting on top of the leaf of the Victoria Boliviana. Photo credit: CNN
Scientists have announced a new water lily larger than the Victoria Amazonica and named it the Victoria Boliviana after the country where it was discovered – Bolivia. The Victoria Boliviana was discovered in the Spanish speaking country of Bolivia in South America.
Scientists say that the Victoria Boliviana flew under the radar for hundreds of years partly because it was sometimes mistaken for the Victoria Amazonica. However, experts at London’s Kew Gardens worked with a team from Bolivia to establish that the Victoria Boliviana is in fact a distinct species.
The Victoria Boliviana is now the newest species of water lily in the world, and also the largest, belonging to the genus “Victoria” which was named after the 19th century monarch, her Royal Highness, Queen Victoria of England. The two other species of the genus are the Victoria Amazonica and the Victoria Cruziana – all of which can be seen side by side at London’s Kew Gardens.
The leaves of the Victoria Boliviana can reach a diameter of 10.5 feet and support a weight of 176 pounds. This is the largest undivided/simple leaf of any plant on record The largest waterlily species is the newly identified Victoria boliviana, which in cultivation has floating pads that grow in excess of 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) in diameter. This prodigious pad had an off-the-charts diameter of 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in), increasing to 3.37 m (11 ft) if the upturned edge was flattened. It had an approximate surface area of 7.55 m2 (81.3 sq ft), about the same as two king-size beds The aquatic plant is native to the Llanos de Moxos tropical savannah of El Beni department in north-east Bolivia The discovery was made by Kew Gardens and their partners La Rinconada Ecoparque & Restaurante in Bolivia.
The largest waterlily species is the newly identified Victoria boliviana, which in cultivation has floating pads that grow in excess of 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) in diameter. This prodigious pad had an off-the-charts diameter of 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in), increasing to 3.37 m (11 ft) if the upturned edge was flattened. It had an approximate surface area of 7.55 m2 (81.3 sq ft), about the same as two king-size beds
The aquatic plant is native to the Llanos de Moxos tropical savannah of El Beni department in north-east Bolivia
The discovery was made by Kew Gardens and their partners La Rinconada Ecoparque & Restaurante in Bolivia.
