UpbeatAn Instagram photo leads botanists to a giant new waterlily in Colombia
A plant lover's Instagram post set Kew botanist Carlos Magdalena on a five-year trail that ended in Colombia's flooded Inírida forests: a giant waterlily with leaves up to 2 metres (about 6.6 feet) across, now confirmed as a new species, Victoria colombiana, in a study published in Phytotaxa. With help from a Tucano boatman, the team found the flowering plants science needed — and knowing the species exists is the first step to protecting the few dozen thought to remain.
The upbeat factora holiday snap became a scientific expedition — and a rare plant got a name, and a chance.
SDG 15 · Life on land — Mechanism: institutional program
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