Victoria cruziana

Victoria cruziana (Santa Cruz water lily, water platter, yrupe, synonym Victoria argentina Burmeist.) is a tropical species of flowering plant, of the Nymphaeaceae family of water lilies native to South America, primarily Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay.

Victoria cruziana
Flower of Victoria cruziana
Leaf of a Santa Cruz water lily (Victoria cruziana). Botanical Garden of Helsinki, Finland.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Order:	Nymphaeales
Family:	Nymphaeaceae
Genus:	Victoria
Species:	V. cruziana
Binomial name
Victoria cruziana A.D.Orb.

Description

The plant is a popular water garden plant in botanical gardens where its very large leaves can reach their fullest, up to 2 m wide with a thick rim up to 20 cm high,^[1][2] although rims up to 23 cm have been recorded.^[3] It can be grown in cooler waters than its sisters within the genus, the more familiar giant waterlily, Victoria amazonica and the recently discovered Victoria boliviana.^[4] A 25 cm diameter flower blooms for two days, arising from the underwater bud, as a white flower that turns to a deep pink on the second and final day of its bloom. V. cruziana is a thermogenetic or heat-producing plant.^[5][6] The floral stigma are attached to a cup that is protected by spines, and the floral cup begins heating up in the bud, then, as the flower opens, it releases a strong sweet scent to attract pollinating beetles of the genus Cyclocephala of the family Scarabaeidae,^[7] then continues to provide heat to the flower while the beetles are pollinating.^[4][8]

Cytology

The diploid chromosome count of Victoria cruziana is 2n = 24.^[9] The chloroplast genome is 158993 bp long.^[10]

Taxonomy

Victoria cruziana was discovered in Bolivia on one of many expeditions through the country by Alcide d'Orbigny whose presence was sponsored by Andrés de Santa Cruz. The first collected specimens were returned to France where they were named in honor of Santa Cruz by Alcide's brother, Charles Henry Dessalines d'Orbigny.^{[citation needed]}

It was first described in 1840 by Alcide d'Orbigny in Annales des Sciences Naturelles; Botanique, Ser. 2, 13, p. 57.^[11] Synonyms for Victoria cruziana A.D.Orb. are: Victoria argentina Burmeist. noun nud., Victoria cruziana var. malmei F.Henkel et al., Victoria cruziana f. matogrossensis Malme, Victoria cruziana f. trickeri F.Henkel ex Malme, Victoria cruziana var. trickeri F.Henkel et al., Victoria regia var (A.D.Orb.) C.Lawson, Victoria trickeri (F.Henkel ex Malme) hort. ex Mutzek.