There are 2 species of giant water lily - Victoria amazonica and Victoria cruziana and several hybrids, Longwood Hybrid being the most famous.
We are growing Victoria cruziana for Crocodile Swamp, which has slightly smaller leaves, but has larger ‘turn-ups’. It is slightly less tropical and prefers water temperatures of about 25ºC.
 
The plants are grown as an annual and in the wild they are short lived perennials.
The ribbed structure on the lower surface of the leaf inspired Paxton in his design of the Crystal Palace.
The plants are beetle pollinated and when mature, produce a flower bud every 3 days.
 
Flowers open on the first evening as white flowers with a strong perfume to attract the beetles. They are female at this point. At the end of the first night the flowers close, trapping the beetles inside. Temperatures within the flower can be as high as 10ºC above air temperature. At the end of the second afternoon, the flower re-opens as a pink flower and releases the beetles. The flower at this stage is male and produces pollen that coats the beetles. The beetles fly off to new flowers and pollinate them.
After flowering, the old flowers sink below the surface of the water where the seeds ripen. Once ripe, the seed head bursts open releasing the seeds. Each seed has its own buoyancy aid – a small bag of gas that allows it to float away. When the bag bursts, the seed drops to the bottom and germinates into a new plant.
 
The leaves are strong enough to support the weight of an adult for a short time. They are porous, so as weight is added, water comes through the leaf and eventually, it sinks. The porosity is to get rid of rain – as the rain falls, it seeps through the leaf.
The lower surface of the leaves are covered in extremely sharp spines as a defence mechanism. They are like needles.
Water lilies come from the Amazon and its tributaries. |
