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Victoria amazonica
Also called Victoria Lily, Royal Water Lily
Victoria amazonica is the giant Amazon water-lily, a species whose floating leaves can reach 3 m across, native to tropical South America. It needs warm, still, nutrient-rich water and is mostly grown in botanical gardens or as an annual in temperate-climate ponds and containers.
Victoria amazonica ("giant water lily") is a species of flowering plant, the second largest in the water lily family Nymphaeaceae. It is called Vitória-Régia or Iaupê-Jaçanã ("the jacana's waterlily") in Brazil and Atun Sisac ("great flower") in Inca (Quechua). Its native region is tropical South America, specifically Guyana and the Amazon Basin.
V. amazonica is cultivated in botanical gardens worldwide, requiring warm water temperatures of 29–32°C (85–90°F) for optimal growth; mature plants tolerate slightly cooler conditions (24–27°C or 75–80°F). Propagation is primarily by seed, which should be stored submerged in water and scarified to accelerate germination. Rhizome division is also possible during the growing season. In temperate regions, it is grown as an annual in containers with organically rich loam substrate in still water 1–3 m deep.
Each plant continues to produce flowers for a full growing season, and they have co-evolved a mutualistic relationship with a species of scarab beetle of the genus Cyclocephala as a pollinator. All the buds in a single patch will begin to open at the same time and as they do, they give off a fruity smell. At this point, the flower petals are white, and the beetles are attracted both to the colour and the smell of the flower. At nightfall the flower stops producing the odor, and it closes, trapping the beetles inside its carpellary appendages. Here, the stamens are protected by the paracarpels, and for the next day, the flower continues to remain closed. The cavity in which the beetle is trapped is composed of a spongy, starchy tissue that provides nourishment for the beetle. During this time, anthocyanins start to be released by the plant, which in turn changes the petals from white to a reddish pink colour, a sign that the flower will have been pollinated.
Victoria boliviana · Santa Cruz water-lily · Giant waterlily
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Victoria amazonica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
