Giant waterlily - 12th August 2022

Scientists found a new flower. They found a new giant waterlily at Kew Gardens in London. Its name is Victoria Boliviana.

Scientists got the seeds from Bolivia. They let the lily grow at Kew Gardens. But they didn't put a name on the plant.

Scientists studied the new flowers. They wanted to have the correct information. After four years, they shared what they found.

Every year, scientists find two thousand new plants and animals. But it's unusual to find a giant flower. For Carlos Magdalena, nature has a lot of surprises.

Carlos Magdalena: "Taxonomists, we discover about 2,000 species every year. So, it is not rare to find a new species. What I think is very unusual is a plant the size with this level of fame to be discovered in, in the year 2022. That is quite unusual. It also highlights how many things could be out there, isn't it."

The waterlily leaves are three metres wide. They have a lot of white and pink flowers.

Lucy Smith loves the size and colour of the giant waterlily. She thinks they're amazing.

Lucy Smith: "When I was finally able to observe a fully open flower, that's when it really hit me and hit us that this was something completely different from the other species. It was a spectacular flower. It was one of the largest flowers I'd seen. And the colouring and the structures were very different from the other species."

Kew Gardens is now the only place with three different types of giant waterlily.