Victoria amazonica

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Queen Victoria's water lily
Victoria amazonica edit 1.jpg
Victoria amazonica at the Adelaide Botanic Garden, South Australia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Order: Nymphaeales
Family: Nymphaeaceae
Genus: Victoria
Species:
V. amazonica
Binomial name
Victoria amazonica
Synonyms [1] [2] [3]
  • Euryale amazonicaPoepp
  • Nymphaea victoriaM.R.Schomb. ex Lindl.
  • Victoria reginaR.H.Schomb.
  • Victoria regiaLindl.

Victoria amazonica is a species of flowering plant, the second largest in the water lily family Nymphaeaceae. It is called uape jacana ("the lilytrotter'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.

Contents

Taxonomy

Illustration by Fitch, 1851 Victoria Regia. (Expanded flower) (1851).jpeg
Illustration by Fitch, 1851

The species is a member of the genus Victoria , placed in the family Nymphaeaceae or sometimes in the Euryalaceae. [4] The first published description of the genus was by John Lindley in October 1837, based on specimens of this plant returned from British Guiana by Robert Schomburgk. Lindley named the genus after the newly ascended Queen Victoria, and the species Victoria regia. [1] The spelling in Schomburgk's description in Athenaeum , published the month before, was given as Victoria Regina. [2] Despite this spelling being adopted by the Botanical Society of London for their new emblem, Lindley's was the version used throughout the 19th century. [3] [5]

An earlier account of the species, Euryale amazonica by Eduard Friedrich Poeppig, in 1832 described an affinity with Euryale ferox . A collection and description was also made by the French botanist Aimé Bonpland in 1825. [1] [6] In 1850 James De Carle Sowerby [7] recognized Poeppig's earlier description and transferred its epithet amazonica. The new name was rejected by Lindley. The current name, Victoria amazonica, did not come into widespread use until the 20th century. [3]

Cytology

The diploid chromosome count of Victoria amazonica is 20. [8]

Description

Victoria amazonica has very large leaves (lamina) (and commonly called "pads" or "lily pads"), up to 3 m (10 ft) in diameter, that float on the water's surface on a submerged stalk (petiole), 7–8 m (23–26 ft) in length, rivaling the length of the green anaconda, a snake local to its habitat. These leaves are enormously buoyant if the weight is distributed evenly over the entire surface of the leaf (as by a piece of plywood, which should be of neutral buoyancy). In 1896 a V. amazonica leaf at Tower Grove Park, Saint Louis, Missouri bore the "unprecedented" weight of 250 pounds (113.6 kg). [9] However, in 1867 William Sowerby of Regents Park Botanic Garden in London placed 426 pounds (193.9 kg) on a leaf only 5' 6" (168 cm) in diameter. [10] One leaf of a specimen grown in Ghent, Belgium bore a load of 498 pounds (226 kg) [11] It is the second-largest waterlily in the world.

V. amazonica is native to the shallow waters of the Amazon River basin, such as oxbow lakes (called iguarapes) and bayous (called paranas). In their native habitat, the flowers first begin to open as the sun starts to set and can take up to 48 hours to fully open up. [12] These flowers can grow up to 40 cm (16 in) in diameter and 3.5 pounds ( 1.6 kilograms) in weight. [13] , exceeded in mass only by members of the genus Rafflesia . All of the flowers of one particular plant will, on a given evening, all be in the female phase or all in the male phase, so that pollination must be by a different individual, precluding self-pollination. [14]

The stem and underside of the leaves are coated with many small spines to defend itself from fish and other herbivores that dwell underwater, [15] although they can also play an offensive role in crushing rival plants in the vicinity as the lily unfolds as it aggressively seeks and hogs sunlight, [16] depriving other plants directly beneath its leaves of such vital resource and significantly darkening the waters below. [17] Younger giant water lilies are even known to swing their spiny stalks and buds around as they grow to forcibly make space for themselves. [18]

Ecology

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. [19] 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. [12] 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. [12] 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. [12] As the beetle munches away inside the flower, the stamens fall inward and the anthers, which have already fallen, drop pollen on the stamens. [12] During the evening of the second day, the flowers will have opened enough to release the beetle, and as it pushes its way through the stamens it becomes covered in pollen. [12] These insects will then go on to find a newly opened water lily and pollinate with the pollen they are carrying from the previous flower. This process was described in detail by Sir Ghillean Prance and Jorge Arius. [12] [20]

History

"On unbent leaf in fairy guise, Reflected in the water, Beloved, admired by hearts and eyes, Stands Annie, Paxton's daughter...": "The Gigantic Waterlily (Victoria Regia), In Flower At Chatsworth", 1849 Victoria Regia LIN 1849-.jpg
"On unbent leaf in fairy guise, Reflected in the water, Beloved, admired by hearts and eyes, Stands Annie, Paxton's daughter...": "The Gigantic Waterlily (Victoria Regia), In Flower At Chatsworth", 1849

Victoria regia, as it was named, was described by Tadeáš Haenke in 1801. [21] It was once the subject of rivalry between Victorian gardeners in England. Always on the lookout for a spectacular new species with which to impress their peers, Victorian "gardeners" [22] 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. The botanical illustrations of cultivated specimens in Fitch and W.J. Hooker's 1851 work Victoria Regia [23] received critical acclaim in the Athenaeum, "they are accurate, and they are beautiful". [24] "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", "as Paxton's inspiration for The Crystal Palace, a building four times the size of St. Peter's in Rome." [25]

It is depicted in the Guyanese coat of arms. [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nymphaeaceae</span> Family of plants

Nymphaeaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly called water lilies. They live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains five genera with about 70 known species. Water lilies are rooted in soil in bodies of water, with leaves and flowers floating on or emergent from the surface. Leaves are round, with a radial notch in Nymphaea and Nuphar, but fully circular in Victoria and Euryale.

<i>Victoria</i> (plant) Genus of aquatic plants

Victoria or giant waterlily is a genus of water-lilies, in the plant family Nymphaeaceae, with very large green leaves that lie flat on the water's surface. Victoria boliviana has a leaf that is up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) in width, on a stalk up to 8 metres (26 ft) in length. The genus name was given in honour of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. It pushes other water plants aside as it spreads out until only those of its kind remains. When this happens it has nearly completely cut out the sunlight from getting to any plants below the water limited only by circle packing.

<i>Nymphaea</i> Genus of aquatic plants

Nymphaea is a genus of hardy and tender aquatic plants in the family Nymphaeaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. Many species are cultivated as ornamental plants, and many cultivars have been bred. Some taxa occur as introduced species where they are not native, and some are weeds. Plants of the genus are known commonly as water lilies, or waterlilies in the United Kingdom. The genus name is from the Greek νυμφαία, nymphaia and the Latin nymphaea, which mean "water lily" and were inspired by the nymphs of Greek and Latin mythology.

<i>Nelumbo</i> Genus of aquatic flowering plants known as "lotus."

Nelumbo is a genus of aquatic plants with large, showy flowers. Members are commonly called lotus, though the name is also applied to various other plants and plant groups, including the unrelated genus Lotus. Members outwardly resemble those in the family Nymphaeaceae, but Nelumbo is actually very distant from that family.

<i>Victoria cruziana</i> Species of aquatic plant

Victoria cruziana is a tropical species of flowering plant, of the Nymphaeaceae family of water lilies native to South America, primarily Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay.

<i>Nymphaea nouchali <span style="font-style:normal;">var.</span> caerulea</i> Species of plant

Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea, is a water lily in the genus Nymphaea, a botanical variety of Nymphaea nouchali.

<i>Euryale ferox</i> Species of flowering plant

Euryale ferox, commonly known as prickly waterlily, makhana or Gorgon plant, is a species of water lily found in southern and eastern Asia, and the only extant member of the genus Euryale. The edible seeds, called fox nuts or makhana when dried, are eaten in Asia.

<i>Nuphar lutea</i> Species of flowering plant

Nuphar lutea, the yellow water-lily, brandy-bottle, or spadderdock, is an aquatic plant of the family Nymphaeaceae, native to northern temperate and some subtropical regions of Europe, northwest Africa, and western Asia. This species was used as a food source and in medicinal practices from prehistoric times with potential research and medical applications going forward.

<i>Nymphaea leibergii</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea leibergii, also known as the dwarf waterlily and Leiberg's waterlily, is a perennial emergent aquatic plant belonging to the genus Nymphaea. It can be found across northern North America in ponds and slow moving streams. Populations of this plant are infrequent throughout its range, and it is protected as a state threatened plant in Maine, Michigan, and Minnesota.

<i>Nymphaea thermarum</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea thermarum is a species of water lily that is endemic to Rwanda. Once thought to be extinct in the wild, all wild plants were believed to be lost due to destruction of its native habitat, but it was thought to be saved from extinction when it was grown from seed at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 2009. A previously-unknown wild population was discovered in 2023.

<i>Cyclocephala castanea</i> Species of beetle

Cyclocephala castanea is a species of small beetle in the family Scarabaeidae which is native to the Amazon basin in South America. This beetle and certain others in the same genus have a commensal relationship with the large water lily Victoria amazonica. Visiting the flower for food, the beetles are trapped inside and emerge laden with pollen the following evening.

<i>Victoria boliviana</i> Species of plant

Victoria boliviana, or the Bolivian waterlily is a new species of water lily within the genus Victoria in the family Nymphaeaceae. It is the newest described species of the genus and its largest member in size and was officially identified in 2022. In January 2023, the species was awarded three Guinness World Record titles for world's largest waterlily species, world's largest waterlily leaf and world's largest undivided leaf, with the latter two specifically recognizing a specimen grown in 2012 at La Rinconada Gardens in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

<i>Nymphaea prolifera</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea prolifera is a species of waterlily naturally found from Mexico to Brazil and northeastern Argentina. Additionally, it has been reported to occur in Uruguay.

<i>Nymphaea gardneriana</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea gardneriana is a species of waterlily native to Cuba and tropical South America.

<i>Nymphaea rudgeana</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea rudgeana is a species of waterlily native to the region spanning from Mexico to tropical South America.

Nymphaea tenuinervia is a species of waterlily native to Colombia, Guyana and Brazil.

<i>Nymphaea lasiophylla</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea lasiophylla is a species of waterlily native to East Brazil. It has also been introduced to the Venezuelan Antilles.

<i>Nymphaea atrans</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea atrans is a species of waterlily is endemic to Queensland, Australia.

<i>Nymphaea gracilis</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea gracilis is a species of waterlily endemic to Mexico. It is the only species of its genus, which is endemic to Mexico.

<i>Nymphaea loriana</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea loriana is a species of waterlily endemic to Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, Canada.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Knotts, Kit. "Victoria's History". Victoria Adventure. Knotts. Archived from the original on 14 April 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
  2. 1 2 R.H.Schomb., Athenaeum 515:661. Sep 9. 1837
  3. 1 2 3 Trehane, Piers; Pagels, Walter (2001). "Victoria Regia or Victoria Regina? How A Politics Can Change A Waterlily Name". Letters. (cited at GRIN). Victoria Adventure. Archived from the original on 13 August 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
  4. ↑ "Genus: Victoria Lindl". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 27 January 2005. Archived from the original on 13 August 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
  5. ↑ Opitz, Donald L. (21 June 2013). "'The sceptre of her pow'r': nymphs, nobility, and nomenclature in early Victorian science". The British Journal for the History of Science . 47 (1): 67–94. doi:10.1017/S0007087413000319. S2CID   143944267.
  6. ↑ "Nymphaeaceae Victoria Lindl". Plant Name Details. International Plant Name Index. 2005. Archived from the original on 13 August 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
  7. ↑ Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 2, 6, 310
  8. ↑ Pellicer, J., Kelly, L. J., Magdalena, C., & Leitch, I. J. (2013). "Insights into the dynamics of genome size and chromosome evolution in the early diverging angiosperm lineage Nymphaeales (water lilies)." Genome, 56(8), 437-449.
  9. ↑ Tricker, William (1897). The Water Garden. New York: A. T. De la Mare Printing and Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 54.
  10. ↑ Gardener's Chronicle Volume 29 (first series) (November 6, 1869) p.1164.
  11. ↑ Gardener's Chronicle op. cit. p. 865.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Prance, Ghillean T.; Arius, Jorge R. (1975). "A study of the floral biology of Victoria amazonica (Poepp.) Sowerby (Nymphaeaceae)". Acta Amazonica. 5 (2): 109–139. doi: 10.1590/1809-43921975052109 .
  13. ↑ Vincent, Frank (1898). The Plant World. New York: D. Appleton and Co. p. 125.
  14. ↑ Prance, Ghillian T.; Lovejoy, Thomas E. (1985). Key Environments - Amazonia. Oxford, England: Pergamon Press. p. 181.
  15. ↑ "Giant Water lily". Conservatory of Flowers . Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  16. ↑ Daniel, Hugo (9 January 2022). "Sir David Attenborough and a murder most florid". The Times . Retrieved 28 January 2022.(subscription required)
  17. ↑ "Victoria Water Lily Facts". Rainforest Cruises. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  18. ↑ "The Tyrant of the Deep - The Green Planet - BBC Earth". YouTube. BBC Earth. 16 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  19. ↑ SEYMOUR, ROGER S.; MATTHEWS, PHILIP G. D. (December 2006). "The Role of Thermogenesis in the Pollination Biology of the Amazon Waterlily Victoria amazonica". Annals of Botany. 98 (6): 1129–1135. doi:10.1093/aob/mcl201. ISSN   0305-7364. PMC   2803590 . PMID   17018568.
  20. ↑ "Myths and Misunderstandings About Victoria". www.victoria-adventure.org. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  21. ↑ "Sonderausstellung 2004 | BGBM". Bgbm.org. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  22. ↑ In reality they did little or no actual gardening at all, but employed talented horticulturalists such as Joseph Paxton (for Devonshire) and the forgotten Mr Ivison (for Northumberland) to run their estates and gardens.
  23. ↑ "Victoria Regia : or, Illustrations of the Royal water-lily, in a series of figures chiefly made from specimens flowering at Syon and at Kew by Walter Fitch; with descriptions by Sir W. J. Hooker. ".
  24. ↑ Allibone, Samuel Austin (1863). A critical dictionary of English literature and British and American authors. Vol. 1. George W. Childs.
  25. ↑ H. Peter Loewer. The Evening Garden: Flowers and Fragrance from Dusk Till Dawn. Timber Press, 2002. ISBN   978-0-88192-532-6. Page 130.
  26. ↑ Knotts, Kit. "Victoria's history". Water Gardeners International. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
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