A New Greenhouse for Victoria Cruziana in the Botanical Gardens.

 

A new green house is being built for "Victoria" the huge water lily, that up until recently had a home in a rather run down greenhouse.   I had visited it many times in the past, although for the last two years it had been closed due to the danger of it collapsing.

 

"Victoria" is a genus of water-lilies, in the plant family Nymphaeaceae, with very large green leaves that lie flat on the water's surface.  The genus name was given in honour of the British Queen Victoria.

 

The specimum here is "Victoria Cruziana"  which originates from the Parana-Paraguay basin, is a smaller version of the better know "Victoria Amazonica,"  with the underside of the leaves coloured purple rather than the red of V. Amazonica,  and covered with a peachlike fuzz.   "Victoria Cruziana" opens its flowers at dusk, and each year the garden staff try to predict when the plant will bloom, and the greenhouse stays open for as long as possible, so that the public have a chance to see the magic.

 Diggers demolishing the old greenhouse.

 

 The first published description of the genus was by John Lindley in 1837, based on specimens returned from British Guiana by Robert Schomburgk.   Lindley named the genus after the new Queen Victoria, and the species "Victoria Regia."  

 

The leaf of "Victoria" is able to support quite a large weight due to the plant's structure, although the leaf itself is quite delicate, so much so that a straw held six inches above and dropped perpendicularly upon it would readily pass through it.  To counter the fragile nature of the leaf, the weight needs to be distributed across the surface by mechanical means, such as a sheet of plywood. This allows the leaf to support up to 32 kilograms (71 lb).
 

 

Opposite this greenhouse was my favourite reading seat, where I´ve spent many a hot summer´s afternoon reading in the shady peace and quiet.  Me thinks that now, I will have to find another perch!