{"id":1725,"date":"2014-08-13T12:00:07","date_gmt":"2014-08-13T16:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nybg.org\/science-talk\/?p=1725"},"modified":"2014-08-18T16:10:45","modified_gmt":"2014-08-18T20:10:45","slug":"queen-of-the-amazon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/science-talk\/2014\/08\/queen-of-the-amazon\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen of the Amazon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scott A. Mori<\/a>, Ph.D., is the Nathaniel Lord Britton Curator of Botany at The New York Botanical Garden. Francisca Coelho is the Vivian and Edward Merrin Vice President for Glasshouses and Exhibitions.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Victoria<\/a>
Victoria amazonica<\/em> in its native habitat along the Amazon River.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a post on Plant Talk, Scott described the fascinating\u00a0life cycle of the Amazon water lily<\/a>. But how did this iconic Amazonian species receive its scientific name, and how did this popular late-summer attraction come to be cultivated so far from its native habitat at major botanical gardens such as The New York Botanical Garden?<\/p>\n

The Amazon water lily was discovered by Eduard Friedrich Poeppig in Peru and, because he thought it was related to an eastern Asian water lily belonging to the genus Euryale<\/em>, he named it Euryale amazonica<\/em> in 1836. The species was rediscovered by the German botanist Robert Hermann Schomburgk on a botanical expedition supported by Great Britain to what was then known as British Guiana. Schomburgk shipped his detailed notes, drawings, and collections to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew<\/a>, where John Lindley described the species as Victoria regia<\/em> in 1837 in honor of Queen Victoria.
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\nEven at that time, it was generally accepted that the first species epithet given to a newly discovered plant has priority<\/a>\u00a0over later names. Thus the first species epithet \u201camazonica<\/em>\u201d was transferred to Victoria<\/em> by James Sowerby in 1850; thus, the correct name for the Amazon water lily is Victoria amazonica<\/em> (Poepp.) J. C. Sowerby. Credit is given to Poeppig for discovering the species and to Sowerby for transferring the name to the currently accepted genus.<\/p>\n

A second species, Victoria cruziana,<\/em> was discovered\u00a0in Bolivia and published by Alcide d’Orbigny in 1840. It differs from V. amazonica<\/em> in its more southern distribution, greater\u00a0tolerance for cold, and the higher rim around the circumference of the leaf. In addition, the\u00a0underside of its leaf is green instead of red;\u00a0its ovary is also\u00a0green instead of red;\u00a0it has a\u00a0greater number of staminodes; and its seeds are round instead of oval and larger than those of V. amazonica<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"Victoria<\/a>
Victoria cruziana<\/em>, a more southernly distributed species, growing in cultivation
at The New York Botanical Garden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The hybrid between V. amazonica<\/em> and V. cruziana<\/em>\u00a0 has\u00a0hybrid vigor and produces more and larger flowers, but the vigor diminishes in plants germinated from seeds produced by hybrids. Therefore, the best display plants are grown from first-generation hybrid seed. One of the best sources for hybrid seeds is Longwood\u00a0Gardens<\/a>, and the cross is rightfully named Victoria<\/em> \u2018Longwood Hybrid.\u2019 These crosses are made using Victoria amazonica<\/em> as the pollen donor.<\/p>\n

The seeds are gathered at the end of the growing season and are placed in a cool, dark place until the seed coat turns brownish-black. They are then put in distilled water at 45 degrees Fahrenheit until early February, when the seeds are moved\u00a0to moist sand to germinate. By April, the seedlings have\u00a0young leaves, and at the end of May the seedlings are moved to heated outdoor pools to temperatures approximating their native habitat. The leaves grow at the astonishing rate of four to 24 inches every 24 hours, and by late summer the plants are in full flower.<\/p>\n

This year, the Amazon water lilies in the Conservatory’s tropical pool are Victoria<\/em> ‘Longwood Hybrid’ <\/em>and Victoria cruziana<\/em>. V. cruziana<\/em> tolerates cooler temperatures better than V. amazonica<\/em>, making it a good choice this year since the summer has been cooler than normal so far.<\/p>\n

\"Victoria<\/a>
Victoria<\/em> \u2018Longwood Hybrid’ growing in cultivation at Longwood Gardens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To learn more about all aspects of the Amazon water lily, we recommend\u00a0Tomasz Anisko\u2019s book\u00a0Victoria the Seductress<\/em>,\u00a0one of the most complete books ever written about a single species of plant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scott A. Mori, Ph.D., is the Nathaniel Lord Britton Curator of Botany at The New York Botanical Garden. Francisca Coelho is the Vivian and Edward Merrin Vice President for Glasshouses and Exhibitions. In a post on Plant Talk, Scott described the fascinating\u00a0life cycle of the Amazon water lily. But how did this iconic Amazonian species… <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n