The world's greatest lily | The Living Rainforest

The Giant Amazon Water Lily was discovered growing in the River Amazon in 1801, and first grown in Europe in the mid 19th Century. Known as the “Giant Water-Platter,” the structure of its exceptionally strong leaves inspired Sir Joseph Paxton to construct an immense conservatory at Chatsworth House, in which the lily flowered for the first time in Britain.

Giant Amazon waterlily leaves

The leaves of the Brazilian species, Victoria amazonica, reach six feet across and can support the weight of a well-balanced adult. The water lily growing at The Living Rainforest is a hybrid between this species and V. cruziana, a smaller species native to Argentina and Paraguay. The hybrid is named Victoria x ‘Longwood Hybrid’ after Longwood Gardens in the USA where the cross was first made in 1960. ‘Longwood Hybrid’ tends to produce larger leaves than either species; indeed, The Living Rainforest’s specimen grew the largest leaf on record in 2002, measured at 2.65m (8’ 6½”) across before it was attacked by an escaped colony of leafcutter ants.

In cultivation, the plant is grown from a pea-sized seed sown in early Spring. Planted out into the main pond in May, the plant uses the several hundred litres of cow manure provided for it to grow increasingly large leaves until the first flower is produced in August, when the leaves reach full-size. By November, the light levels at The Living Rainforest have dropped to a point where the plant can no longer support its huge leaves, and the dying plant is removed from the pond. In its native River Amazon, the plant would continue growing year-round, its growth rate determined by water levels rather than light or warmth.

Giant Amazon waterlily flower, freshly open

The enormous, 12” flowers are intriguing. Similar in appearance and structure to typical water lily flowers, they open as pure white blooms in the evening. A chemical reaction heats the inside of the flower to as much as 12°C (20°F) above the ambient temperature, helping to disperse the bloom’s sweet-smelling perfume. This attracts scarab beetles which burrow into the flower between the petals, delivering pollen from a previous visit to another giant water lily bloom. As the flower closes the next morning, the beetles are trapped inside, getting dusted with pollen as they struggle to escape. At dusk, the flower opens for a second time. As the petals unfurl and allow the pollen-covered beetles to escape and find a virgin white flower, they reveal a deep purple hue, no longer attractive to scarabs.