Victoria (waterlily)

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"Victoria regia" redirects here. For the music album of that name, see Victoria Regia.

Victoria Waterlily

A flowering Victoria in the Amsterdam Hortus Botanicus

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Nymphaeales
Family:	Nymphaeaceae
Genus:	Victoria

Species

Victoria amazonica (Poepp.) Sowerby
Victoria cruziana A. D. Orb
Victoria mattogrossensis

Victoria is the genus of giant water lilies in the plant family Nymphaeaceae. The species of this classification have very large leaves that float on the water's surface, the most well known and largest, Victoria amazonica, has a leaf that is up to 3 m in diameter on a stalk 7–8 m in length. Victoria is named after Queen Victoria. Victoria amazonica was once called Victoria regia, but the species name was superseded - although in Brazil it is still called that way.

Thaddäus Haenke was among the first to describe them, but as he stayed in South America until his death in 1816, later British explorers named the plant after their Queen.

Victoria amazonica is native to the shallow waters of the Amazon River basin, such as oxbow lakes and bayous. It is depicted in the Guyanese coat of arms. The flowers are white the first night they are open and become pink the second night. They are up to 40 cm in diameter, and are pollinated by scarab beetles.

Another species, Victoria cruziana, in the Parana-Paraguay basin which is only slightly smaller, with the underside of the leaves purple rather than the red of V. amazonica, and covered with a peachlike fuzz lacking in V. amazonica. V. cruziana opens its flowers at dusk.

A third type, Victoria mattogrossensis or V. cruziana var. mattogrossensis, found in the pantanal region, resembles V. cruziana except in having huge seeds.