Victoria boliviana is the first new giant water lily species to be discovered in over a century, and it is currently the largest water lily in the world. Victoria is a small genus of flowering plants in the water lily family Nymphaeaceae, known for its very large green leaves, named in 1852 after the British Queen Victoria. The plants are found in the coves of the Amazon and Paraná river basins in South America.

The flower buds of the Victoria develop underwater and rise above the water's surface when they are ready to bloom. Each flower opens for two consecutive nights, changing its shape and colour dramatically between them. These changes in shape and colour reflect their role in pollination, which involves trapping pollinating beetles.

"Species of the Victoria genus have been poorly studied and described for decades," explains Alex Monro (Alex Monro) and his colleagues from the Royal Botanic Gardens. "The lack of knowledge is due to the fact that there are no specimens of these species in plant collections around the world. This is mainly because giant water lilies are difficult to collect in the wild." (...)
Uses a photograph by Carlos Magdalena from the original article