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Victoria Amazonis - the largest water lily in the world
Victoria Amazonis is the largest water lily in the world, named after the famous british queen. It originally grew only in South America, but is now grown in large greenhouses around the world.
Description of Victoria Amazonian
The plant is known for its huge size- one water lily reaches 2 m in width. At the same time, it can withstand a weight of up to 50 kg. The flower was discovered in 1832 by Edward Peping. It was first grown in a greenhouse only in 1849.
Source: Depositphotos
Victoria Amazonis - the largest water lily in the world
Victoria is a heat-loving plant that does not tolerate frost. It blooms only at night, and sometimes at cloudy weather. The flowers are also different large sizes. They usually bloom in the evening and remain above the surface of the water until the morning.
In the photo, the shade of Victoria Amazonian flowers can vary from white to purple. It depends on the age of the water lily. In the first days it blooms with white flowers, which over time darken to purple and crimson. After this, the water lily is lowered into the water. At the same time, Victoria can bloom for several months - from July to October.
Breeding water lilies in Russia
It is impossible to grow a water lily on your own in your own pond. You can look at it in specially equipped greenhouses, where the microclimate necessary for its flowering is maintained. The Victoria Amazonian water lily takes root in fresh water bodies at least 1 m deep. The larger it is, the larger the leaves of the plant will grow.
The Victoria Amazonskaya plant was first cultivated in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. Today you can look at it in greenhouses in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The giant water lily reproduces by seeds. To prevent them from dying during transportation, they are placed in test tubes or bottles with cold water. The seeds remain similar for 2–5 years.
They are thrown into water in January to a depth of 2–3 cm. When root system grows up to 3–4 cm, the flower is transplanted into pots filled with river silt. On permanent place They are planted in the reservoir at the end of April - beginning of May. The Victoria Amazonian flower is an annual water lily.
In 1 year it grows to 30–40 leaves, of which about 15–20 can bloom. During the growth period, water lilies are fed with manure and also protected from damage caused by snails, slugs and algae.
Unfortunately, Victoria is an extremely heat-loving and whimsical plant that does not grow in Russia. With the help of selection, its less fastidious species was developed, but its leaves and flowers are smaller in size.
Amazonia is a region in the Amazon River basin in South America. It is there that the giant Amazonian water lily (Lat. Victoria amazonica) or Victoria regia (Victoria regia - Royal Victoria) grows - the largest water lily in the world. The diameter of its sheet can reach 2 meters, while it can withstand a load weighing up to several tens of kg. Thanks to these achievements, Victoria Regia was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the “largest flowering plant on earth."
Yours modern name The water lily received its name in the 19th century, when it was discovered. In 1836, the German traveler Robert Hermann Schomburgk, while in the service of Great Britain, explored the forests South America. That's what he discovered mysterious plant. Just then English throne went to the young Queen Victoria, who was fond of botany. Schomburgk named his find after her: Victoria Royal.
Victoria has long, cord-like roots.
Its flower is located under water and appears on the surface only once a year - during flowering, which lasts only 2-3 days. At this time, a large water lily flower appears in all its glory.
The snow-white flowers of the giant water lily bloom at sunset, and at dawn they close and hide under the water. At exactly two o'clock in the afternoon they again appear on the surface of the reservoir - now pink. And on its last evening the flower turns crimson or purple. After this, it sinks under water and dies completely. This is such short-lived joy.
The water lily itself can live in nature for up to 5 years.
A young leaf that has not yet unfolded.
Nature took care of protecting the plant. External side the leaf, stem and flower are completely covered with sharp and long spines, which protect it from herbivorous fish and animals.
The surface of the Amazonian water lily can support loads of up to several tens of kilograms. It is only necessary to correctly distribute the center of gravity. About this unusual feature water lilies are well known local residents. Therefore, they occasionally use water lilies as a means of transport for crossing small rivers.
After the giant water lily was found, numerous attempts to cultivate this plant began. But almost all of them turned out to be ineffective. And only in 1849 Victoria bloomed for the first time in botanical garden English city Chadsworth. At the end of the last century, similar attempts were made by the Columbia Botanical Garden. And in 1975, one of them was crowned with success. And after 20 years, with the help of special light filters, it was possible to grow a new full-fledged plant. Now in this botanical garden every parent can take a photo of their infant on the huge leaves of the regal Victoria.
It also grows in other botanical gardens. In particular, in the Botanical Garden of St. Petersburg, where Victoria Amazonia has been grown since 1864.
The Aborigines called it aquatic plant"aponoi", which means "bird frying pan" in their language.