Colombian Victoria: the fascinating discovery of a giant water lily in South America seen from space

Colombian Victoria: the fascinating discovery of a giant water lily in South America seen from space The finding occurred at the last minute. The researchers Carlos Magdalena and Mauricio Bernal gave up. They had flown to Inírida, in the upper basin of the Orinoco River between Colombia and Venezuela, searching for a giant water lily species never before described. They navigated miles between flooded jungles. They entrusted themselves to Gustavo Melo, a member of an indigenous reserve of the territory that flows at any time between dark rivers without GPS or cell service. "A navigation genius who moves there like someone walking through their house with the lights on. It was almost the dawn of the last day. The plane to get there warmed up the engines," tells Magdalena, a Spanish horticulturist from the Royal Botanic Garden Kew in London. Then they sang bingo. A water lily from the Victoria family that they had never seen appeared on the water. Only one leaf could measure up to 2.5 meters in diameter. "It was crazy. The eyes were shining. Achieving it after such a long journey and five days of searching was exciting," reveals Bernal, a Colombian horticulturist from the Botanical Garden of Bogotá. They named it Colombian Victoria. They recently published the findings in the scientific journal Phytotaxa, whose authorship included these researchers and members of indigenous communities from Guainía. "The Victories enamor and bewitch those who know them. It is a spectacular plant," adds Bernal. A species that enchants A few days after publishing, Bernal and Magdalena look like this: in love with their discovery. I visit them at the Botanical Garden of Bogotá. First they take me to a laboratory. Bernal brings a collection of folders under his arm. He opens them. Inside are dried leaves, stems, and flowers. Several of these samples have been stored for years under meticulous conditions. "To classify the Colombian Victoria we compare these samples. They are different species of Victoria. This is how we were able to describe it," recounts Magdalena. The Victories are a South American genus that already had three known specimens: the Amazonian, the crossian, and the Bolivian. Their giant leaves support great weights. The first species was discovered in the 19th century. "They were named Victoria regia (now Amazonica) after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. To see it, they made tails of kilometers in London. It was something extraordinary, a vegetal marvel, the queen of herbaceous plants. It had aura and exoticism," says the Spanish scientist. Since then the species has fascinated generations. Bernal takes an Amazonian specimen from the Garden and turns it over. On the reverse side of the surface is a network of veins that inspired architects: an example of how nature itself provides clues on how to support structures with the least amount of materials. "Look also at those spines. They are to avoid being bitten by other species," points out Bernal. An exceptional discovery The Victories obsessed Magdalena since childhood. About six years ago, he discovered the Bolivian species along with a team. He was about to publish his finding when he saw on Instagram an American posing with an Amazonian Victoria in the Orinoco. "But I didn't know that species existed there. It could be a new one, unknown to science," recounts the scientist. Magdalena contacted Bernal and they got to work. On a computer, they show me the satellite images they used to locate them. First the planet appears, they zoom into South America, focus on the jungle, expand the lakes. There they are: green pearls on the water connected to each other. Magdalena estimates that there are between 30 and 50 individuals of Colombian Victoria in the wild. "It is worrying for a species that does not have the life of a tree. In terms of climate change it could be threatened. The water fluctuates a lot and quickly and that could be disturbing," the scientists agree. Both point out that much remains to be known. Answers about the world One of the challenges for their study is that the plant lives in remote places: jungles that flood with up to seven meters of water, giant rivers, and lakes with much sediment. Experts contemplate conservation alternatives such as establishing populations in more accessible places within indigenous territories. That can contribute to the protection and development of community ecotourism. Bernal and Magdalena collect seeds to cultivate and study them under controlled conditions. Before leaving, I ask both what this discovery means. "The ancestors of Victoria were here before South America separated from Pangaea. They survived when the Amazon gave the Pacific and saw the Andes rise. They have been born and died every year for more than 70 million years. In the middle of a jungle where you don't reach, in the middle of the night that no one can see, this flower opens from the water, smells of pineapple and attracts scarabs," says Magdalena. They are plants so remote that Bernal trusts that they will reveal more about the history of South American rivers. "By studying them in depth you get clues about how the entire continent formed," says the Colombian. "They ask us many times what they are for, from the perspective of utility for man, but that falls short. They have been making feats for millions of years, being witnesses to dinosaurs. They have the moral right to insist and we to understand it," he adds. "One of the wonders that makes Colombia such an interesting country," Magdalena concludes. - Download the new BBC World Service app. Choose BBC News Mundo and receive news, documentaries, and analysis alerts, all in one place. 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