People can stand on the leaves, and the flowers can change three colors! This "magical" plant is actually not mysterious...

Expert of this article: Rong Hai, plant science writer

When it comes to lotus, some people may say that they have seen this flower since childhood and it is nothing new.

So, if there was a lotus leaf big enough for a child to sit on, wouldn’t it be not only cool but also poetic?

Some time ago, a cute kid in Shanghai experienced this wonderful feeling. You can sit on the leaves of Victoria amazonica and even jump. Isn't it wonderful? Only cute kids weighing less than 40 catties can participate.

The Victoria amazonica mentioned here is known as the "king of aquatic flowers", and its leaves can even support the weight of an adult!

Not only that, when the Victoria amazonica blooms, it can change three colors in one day.

Isn’t it amazing? Today we will learn more about Victoria amazonica in a systematic way.

It turns out there is more than one kind of Victoria regia

Victoria is a general term for plants of the genus Victoria in the family Nymphaeaceae. There are two native species of this genus in the world:

Victoria cruziana, originally distributed in the Paraná River Basin, is mainly produced in Paraguay and northern Argentina;

Victoria amazonica was originally distributed in the Amazon River basin in tropical South America, with its main production areas being Brazil and Bolivia.

In addition, there are many cultivated varieties of Victoria 'Longwood', among which the most outstanding one is Victoria 'Longwood', which was bred by Longwood Park in the United States in the 1960s using Victoria 'Cruz' as the female parent and Victoria 'Amazon' as the male parent. At present, these three types of Victoria 'Longwood' are the most widely cultivated.

Victoria amazonica was discovered in the early 19th century. my country began introducing the plant as early as 1958. Several botanical research institutes and botanical gardens have successively carried out introduction and cultivation work, and artificial cultivation has achieved certain results.

However, due to the huge size of Victoria amazonica, its cultivation requires a sufficiently large area of ​​water, and its requirements for climatic conditions are relatively high. Therefore, Victoria amazonica currently has great limitations in its application in water greening in my country.

How powerful is Victoria regia?

One of the characteristics of Victoria amazonica is its huge leaves, which are round and curled up at the edges, with a diameter of more than 3 meters, large and stretched, and peculiarly disk-like, which are very spectacular when floating on the water and have great ornamental value.

In addition, the veins of Victoria regia are thick and net-like, and the interior is spongy, storing a large amount of gas. This special vein structure not only enables the leaves to fully stretch, but also gives the leaves a stronger load-bearing capacity.

A larger leaf of Victoria amazonica can support an adult weighing 70 kg. It can be said to be the "big guy" and "strongman" among plant leaves and is worthy of the title of "King" lotus.

Many areas in China have launched the "Sitting on Victoria regia" experience activity, allowing children to feel the charm of the power of Victoria regia.

However, it should be noted that the leaves of Victoria amazonica can withstand a lot of pressure, but people may break the leaves if they step on them. Therefore, when "sitting on Victoria amazonica", it is generally necessary to lay a hard mat on the leaves first to ensure that the pressure can be distributed as much as possible on the entire leaf.

The color of the royal lily changes after it blooms

In addition to its huge leaves and amazing carrying capacity, the Victoria amazonica's flowers are also very interesting. They can bloom twice and change into three colors.

When the Victoria amazonica blooms, the buds emerge from the water and the flowering period is three days: they bloom in the evening of the first day, with white petals and a strong fragrance; they close in the morning of the next day and open again in the afternoon, with petals ranging from pink to dark red and no fragrance; on the morning of the third day, the petals turn dark red, close and sink into the water.

As we all know, flower color is closely related to the type and content of pigments in the petals. The color change of Victoria regia is actually the gradual accumulation process of anthocyanins, the main pigment in nature that makes the petals appear red and purple.

In the early stage of flowering, there is only a very small amount of anthocyanin in the petals, and the petals are white. As time goes by, anthocyanin gradually accumulates and the content increases, and the petals turn pink to deep red, resulting in the interesting phenomenon of flower color change.

The Deeper Meaning of Flower Color Changes

However, the color change is only superficial. Studies have found that the highly specialized characteristics of Victoria regia, such as opening and closing, flower color changes, and fragrance changes, are all designed to better adapt to insect pollination.

The Victoria amazonica blooms in the evening of the first day. The petals are white and have a strong fragrance, which can effectively attract pollinating insects to come for pollination. As the petals close, these pollinating insects are trapped in the flower and cannot leave until it opens again the next day. At this time, the Victoria amazonica begins to release a large amount of pollen. These pollinating insects that leave one after another are covered with pollen and move on to the next flower.

At this stage, the Victoria regia has no fragrance, and its petals are pink to deep red, which is significantly different from the white color when it first opens. This is equivalent to telling the insects that come to pollinate: "I have no pollen anymore, there is no need to come anymore. Go to the newly opened flowers and don't waste your time!"

When the pollinating insects trapped in the flower leave with the pollen, the Victoria amazonica has completed its pollination mission, closes again, and is dragged underwater by the gradually bent pedicel to begin bearing fruit.

What other plants have flowers that change color?

Changes in flower color are often accompanied by corresponding changes in indicators such as pollen volume, nectar volume, and male and female reproductive capacity. They have complex ecological functions. One important function is to provide prompts to pollinators, reduce their futile visits, and thus improve pollination efficiency.

This phenomenon is quite common in plants. According to statistics, about 33 orders, 78 families and 253 genera of angiosperms have the phenomenon of flower color changes when flowering. Common ones include honeysuckle, even-colored jasmine, hibiscus, etc.

Honeysuckle, Image source: Photographed by the author

Even-colored jasmine, photo source: taken by the author

Lantana, photo source: taken by the author

Hibiscus mutabilis, Image source: Photographed by the author

Take honeysuckle as an example. It does not really have two kinds of flowers, yellow and white. Instead, the flowers are white when they first open, and gradually turn yellow as time goes by until they wither. On the same plant, some flowers are white when they first open, and some are about to wither and turn yellow, so it is common to see yellow and white flowers coexisting, hence the name "honeysuckle".

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