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Giant Lily Pad
LEON NEAL/GETTY IMAGES
LILY GARDEN: Carlos Magdalena and botanical artist Lucy Smith walk among the giant waterlilies at the Royal Botanic Gardens in England. England. V. boliviana’s lily pads reach about 10 feet wide.
The world’s largest lily pad can grow up to 3 meters (10 feet) wide and support the weight of a child. Despite its impressive size, this massive species of waterlily was only recently identified by scientists.
For more than a century, there were only two known species of giant waterlily. Both native South American plants belong to the genus Victoria. But Carlos Magdalena, a horticulturist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in England, suspected the two species were actually three.
ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDENS, KEW
AFLOAT: V. boliviana’s lily pad supports the weight of Magdalena’s 6-year-old son.
To test his theory, Magdalena started growing waterlily seeds sent by researchers in Bolivia. He noticed the seeds’ shape and the plants’ leaves differed from other giant waterlilies. This, combined with historical records and a study of the plant’s DNA—the molecule that carries hereditary material—helped confirm the existence of the new species: Victoria boliviana.