Victoria Regia Blossom. Royal Botanical Garden in Mauritius. Black and White

by Jenny Rainbow

Title

Victoria Regia Blossom. Royal Botanical Garden in Mauritius. Black and White

Artist

Jenny Rainbow

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Victoria amazonica is a species of flowering plant, the largest of the Nymphaeaceae family of water lilies.

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 The species was once called Victoria regia after Queen Victoria, but the name was superseded.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.
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 (for the Duke of Devonshire) being the first in November 1849 by replicating the lily's warm swampy habitat (not easy in winter in England with only coal-fired boilers for heating), and a "Mr Ivison" the second and more constantly successful (for Northumberland) at Syon House.
The species captured the imagination of the public, and was the subject of several dedicated monographs.

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November 8th, 2012

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