The underside of a
#SantaCruzWaterLily pad for
#TextureTuesday
As I briefly explained on Sunday, the veins of these leaves are filled with air, similar to hollow bird bones. This helps the
#lilyPads float on the water's surface despite their huge size of up to 2 m (6.5 ft). They have incredibly thick and tall rims too (around 20 cm (8in)), shouldering aside other leaves that might dare to steal their light. And like the aggressive bullies they are, they have prickly leaves with sharp spines too. My bloody thumb can tell the tale.
Did you know that Victoria cruziana is a transgender species? It only flowers for two nights, opening on its first night as a white female, which lures pollinating scarab beetles with a pineapple scent to feast on the nectar. At dawn, the flower closes and the beetles remain trapped in the flowers until the following night when the flower unfurls as a pink male, and the beetles are released to pollinate other flowers. The pink colour tells other beetles that the flower, now scentless, is already pollinated and that it's not worth spending the night.
The more you know! 🤓
TL;DR: Victoria cruziana is a very cool, but aggressive plant
#SantaCruzRiesenseerose #Blatt #Stützrippen #leaf #GrusonGewächshäuser #Magdeburg #waterLily #greenhouse #BotanischerGarten #botanicalGardens #botanicGardens #RiesenSeerose #RiesenSeerosen #waterPlatter #yrupe #waterLily #waterLilies #nature #Natur #VictoriaCruziana
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