Source: cnBeta
According to CNET, there's plenty to see when you visit London's Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, but one of the highlights is the collection of large and beautiful water lilies. In a surprise discovery, scientists ushered in a new giant water lily variety, now named Victoria boliviana. And it's the largest in the world.
This water lily has been part of the Kew Gardens Herbarium for 177 years, a huge collection of preserved plants. According to Kew staff, this is the first new species of giant water lilies to be discovered in more than a century.
This water lily has been mistakenly identified as a species of Victoria amazonica. Carlos Magdalena, a senior botanical gardener at Kew, suspects that in addition to Amazonica and a variety called cruziana, there is another Victoria water lily variety. This initiated a survey involving the Botanical Gardens of Bolivia.
This water lily is native to the wetlands of Bolivia. Magdalena planted seeds donated from Bolivia and knew that these new plants were different from previously known species. Kew garden staff said: "Victoria Boliviana's thorn distribution and seed shape are different from other members of the Victorian genus, making it distinctive. ”
A research team published a paper on the water lily Monday in the journal Frontiers of Plant Science. The study drew on historical records, DNA, specimens from garden collections, wild examples, and even data from water lily lovers recording social media posts about plants.
Victoria boliviana grows leaves more than 9.8 feet (3 m) in diameter. Kew Said: "Beneath their leaves is also a landscape, like the intersection between the suspension bridge and the roof of an ancient cathedral. The flowers begin to be white and then turn pink. ”
Kew Gardens now grow Victoria boliviana in its water lily house. All three of these giant water lilies are bred in the Welsh Princess Greenhouse in the garden, the only place in the world where they are planted together.