What is the name of the water lily plant with the huge leaves?
Reprinted in part, with permission of The Hudson Gardens The three to nine foot wide lily is commonly called Victoria or Victoria Amazon. Also known as: – Queen of the Water Lilies – Royal Water Lily – Amazon Water Lily – Santa Cruz Water Lily – Giant Water Platter The large leaves have spiny underside that protects it from being eaten by some fish. Victoria is a genus of water lilies, in the plant family Nymphaeaceae, and two species Victoria amazonica and the Victoria cruziana. They are water plants with very large leaves that float on the water’s surface. Victoria amazonica has a leaf that is up to 9 ft in diameter, on a stalk 22-26 ft in length. The genus name was given in honor of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. It is native to the Amazon River basin, hence part of the name. The day before the plant flowers, a tennis-ball sized bud rises out of the water. At sunset on the first night of its bloom cycle, the bud opens to reveal a 50+ petal bloom that may be up to 18″ in diame
