Amazon Giant Waterlily

Appearance

The species has very large leaves, up to 3 m in diameter, that float on the water's surface on a submerged stalk, 7–8 m in length. The species was once called "Victoria regia" after Queen Victoria, but the name was superseded.
"V. amazonica" is native to the shallow waters of the Amazon River basin, such as oxbow lakes and bayous. It is depicted in the Guyanese coat of arms. The flowers are white the first night they are open and become pink the second night. They are up to 40 cm in diameter, and are pollinated by beetles. This process was described in detail by Sir Ghillean Prance and Jorge Arius.It is the largest waterlily in the world.

Evolution

"Victoria regia", as it was named, was once the subject of rivalry between Victorian gardeners in England. Always on the look out for a spectacular new species with which to impress their peers, Victorian "Gardeners" such as the Duke of Devonshire, and the Duke of Northumberland started a well-mannered competition to become the first to cultivate and bring to flower this enormous lily. In the end, the two aforementioned Dukes became the first to achieve this, Joseph Paxton being the first in November 1849 by replicating the lily's warm swampy habitat,
and a "Mr Ivison" the second and more constantly successful at Syon House.

The species captured the imagination of the public, and was the subject of several dedicated monographs. The botanical illustrations of cultivated specimens in Fitch and W.J. Hooker's 1851 work "Victoria Regia" received critical acclaim in the "Athenaeum", "they are accurate, and they are beautiful".
The Duke of Devonshire presented Queen Victoria with one of the first of these flowers, and named it in her honour. The lily, with ribbed undersurface and leaves veining "like transverse girders and supports", was Paxton's inspiration for The Crystal Palace, a building four times the size of St. Peter's in Rome.