Victoria Cruziana, Waterlily House - a photo on Flickriver

            These water lily pads are huge.
Native to tropical South America, Victoria amazonica was first discovered in Bolivia in 1801 and named Eurgale amazonica. It was subsequently moved to a new genus named in honour of Queen Victoria (originally as Victoria regia). In South America it grows in the backwaters of rivers in the Amazon basin, the Guianas and the Pantanal.

The enormous circular leaves, which grow to over 2.5 metres across, have upturned rims and are anchored by long stalks arising from an underground stem buried in the mud of the river bottom. The leaves first appear as spiny heads but expand rapidly up to half a square metre per day. The upper surface has a rather quilted appearance and a waxy layer that repels water. The purplish red undersurface has a network of ribs clad in abundant sharp spines, possibly a defence against herbivorous fishes and manatees. Air trapped in the spaces between the ribs enables the leaves to float. They are so buoyant that they can easily support the weight of a small child, and a mature leaf can support 45 kg if the load is evenly distributed. In a single season, each plant produces some 40 to 50 leaves, which cover the water surface and exclude light, thus restricting the growth of most other plants.

Grade II listed. 1852. Probably by Decimus Burton. Built to house the recently introduced Victoria Regia water-lily. Pitched roofed cast-iron and glass rectangular building with lower porch.Scrolled ironwork spanning the roof supported by slender cast-iron columns. British Listed Buildings

Taken on: July 17, 2012

Tags:

Grade II Listed

Reflection

Victoria Cruziana

Victoria Regia

Santa Cruz Water Lily

Water Lily House

River Thames

Along the Thames

Kew Gardens

Royal Botanic Gardens

Kew Road

Richmond-upon-Thames

Kew

Surrey

TW9

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Camera: Canon EOS 500D, f/7.1, 1/100 sec, 25mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 500D
Aperture:	f/7.1
Exposure Time:	0.01 sec (1/100)
Focal Length:	25mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 7.0
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