Scientists have discovered a new giant water lily that was hidden in an obvious place that was not identified in 177 years. Its leaves reach up to 3 meters in diameter and can withstand the weight of an adult man. Since its leaves are very large, they can be seen from satellite imagery.
A team of scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens in London's Kew revealed in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science on Monday that they had discovered new aquatic species. Due to the lack of previous research on giant water lilies, scientists initially thought that giant water lilies belonged to two other subspecies: Victoria amazonica and Victoria cruziana. Later, it took years of investigation and research by the team to determine that the species, which had never been discovered, had been living in the Kew Gardens Botanical Museum.
The giant water lilies were first brought to England from Bolivia in 1852 and were named after Queen Victoria.
