The First Bloom of Giant Water Lilly in Green Ahalia
It is with great pleasure that we share news of the first bloom of Giant Water Lilly (Victoria amazonica (Poepp.) Klotzsch) at our thematic garden of Aquatic plants. This is one of the several unique plants in our germplasm collections. The exotic plant from Amazon part of south America is doing well after its introduction to Ahalia campus in less than a year. Our Aquatic garden has over 35 species as of now. As in the country, in Kerala too there are not many gardens that have Victoria amazonica in their collection. It needs special care and maintenance that was provided diligently at Ahalia garden.
Victoria amazonica is very thorny and is known to have the largest leaves (lamina) of any water plant. The lamina can grow up to 3 m in diameter and the submerged stalk (petiole), can reach upto 8 m in length. The leaves are even more special that it can hold materials weighting upto 20kg. Our observation on this plant is that it produces blooms that open at night. On the first night, flowers are white, on the second day, they turn to various shades of pink or purple. On the third day they are pulled below the water surface to await the maturation of the seeds. We are now eager to get the seeds from our own plants.
For more information: greenahalia@ahhkv.org
