x
Type in what your trying to find.
Type in what your trying to find.
While visiting Mauritius I came across this pond filled with one of the world’s most extraordinary plants, the giant water lily Victoria amazonica. As the name suggests, it comes from the Amazon valley in northern Bolivia and Brazil and has floating leaves that grow up to a huge 2.5m (8 feet) in diameter and can support up to 55kg (120lb) in weight if it’s spread evenly across the leaf.
Watch my video to learn more about its unusual characteristics…including how it creates its own central heating and has sex-changing flowers.
Here’s a photo showing you the white female version of the flower:
Giant water lily, Victoria amazonica. Photo in Adelaide Botanic garden by Bilby. Creative Commons 3.0 licence
And what it looks like after it’s changed sex overnight!
Victoria amazonica pink-purple male flower head. Photo by belgianchocolate. Creative Commons Licence 2.0
