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The Victoria Regia, a water lily, was discovered by Robert Schomburgh, a German Botanist in l837, while leading an expedition into the interior of what was then British Guiana.
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In its native habitat of tropical America, the plant is perennial. It grows in 4 to 6 feet of water, the base of the stems being situated in soft mud. From each plant there are seldom more than 4 or 5 leaves.
The largest flowers can measure l0 inches to one foot in diameter. When first open, they are white with a sweet smell rather like a ripe fruit; by the second day they are fully expanded and a deeper pink; by the third day, they start to wither.
Another photograph of
Victoria Regia (96K)
