Victoria (plant)

Victoria
Botanical illustration of Victoria amazonica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Order: Nymphaeales
Family: Nymphaeaceae
Genus: Victoria
R.H.Schomb.[1][2]
Type species
Victoria regina R.H.Schomb.[3]
Species

See text

Synonyms[2]

Victoria or giant waterlily[4] is a genus of aquatic herbs in the plant family Nymphaeaceae.[5] Its leaves have a remarkable size: Victoria boliviana produces leaves up to 3.2 metres (10 ft) in width.[2] The genus name was given in honour of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.[2][6]

Description

Underside of Victoria amazonica leaf
Illustration of various stages of growth of Victoria amazonica with a young seedling (left) and a more mature plant (right)
Illustration of Victoria amazonica

Vegetative characteristics

Victoria species are rhizomatous, aquatic,[2][5] short-lived, perennial herbs with tuberous rhizomes bearing contractile[5] adventitious roots.[2] The floating leaves are peltate and orbicular.[2] The margin of the lamina is raised.[7] The lamina possesses stomatodes (i.e. microscopic perforations).[7][8][9] The abaxial leaf surface posesses prominent, reticulate venation.[2]

Generative characteristics

The up to 25 cm wide, nocturnal,[10] thermogenic,[11] solitary,[2] actinomorphic, chasmogamous, protogynous flowers[5] have prickly pedicels with 4 primary and 8 secondary air canals.[2] The flowers have four[12][7][2] prickly, petaloid, 12 cm long, and 7–8 cm wide sepals.[12] The 50-100 petals[5] gradually transition towards the shape of the stamens,[7] however there is an abrupt change between the innermost petals to the outermost staminodia.[12][10] The androeceum consists of 150–200 stamens.[12][5] The gynoecium consists of 30–44[5] fused carpels.[12] The 0–15 cm wide,[2] spiny,[12] irregularly dehiscencent fruit[5][12] bears arillate,[5][12] glabrous, smooth or granular seeds.[5] Proliferating pseudanthia are absent.[13]

Cytology

The ploidy level is 2x and the chromosome count ranges from 2n = 20 to 2n = 24.[2][14]

Taxonomy

Victoria R.H.Schomb. was published by Robert Hermann Schomburgk in September 1837.[15][2] The type species is Victoria regina R.H.Schomb.[3] The genus has two synonyms, both published within the same year with the same name: Victoria Lindl. published by John Lindley in October 1837 and Victoria J. E. Gray published by John Edward Gray in December 1837.[2] There is however disagreement over the correct taxon authority.[16] Victoria R.H.Schomb. is seen as correct by several sources,[12][1][2] but Victoria Lindl. is also widely regarded as correct,[13][16][17][5] despite being published a month later.[2]

Species

Image Scientific name Distribution Description
Victoria amazonica (Poepp.) J.C. Sowerby shallow waters of the Amazon River basin, such as oxbow lakes and bayous The flowers are white the first night they are open and become pink the second night. They are up to 40 cm in diameter, and are pollinated by scarab beetles. According to Parodi, both V. amazonica and V. cruziana can occasionally produce flowers up to 50 centimetres (20 in) in width. The flower is depicted in the Guyanese coat of arms.[18]
Victoria cruziana A.D.Orb. Parana-Paraguay basin Slightly smaller than V. amazonica, with the underside of the leaves purple rather than the red of V. amazonica, and covered with a peachlike fuzz lacking in V. amazonica. V. cruziana opens its flowers at dusk.
Victoria boliviana Magdalena & L.T.Sm.[2][19] Bolivia Leaves reaching more than 3 metres (9.8 ft) in width, larger seed and ovule size
A woman standing on a leaf of Victoria cruziana in the lily pond in front of the Linnaean House of the Missouri Botanical Garden. A wooden plank and a towel is placed on the pad to distribute the weight over the leaf's surface.

Evolutionary relationships

Together with the genus Euryale, Victoria may be placed within the genus Nymphaea, rendering it paraphyletic in its current circumscription.[20][21][22][23][24]

Ecology

Victoria amazonica in its natural habitat near Manaus, Brazil

Habitat

It occurs in lakes and streams.[25]

Pollination

Victoria flowers are pollinated by Cyclocephala beetles.[26][11]

Use

Horticulture

Victoria is a popular ornamental plant.[27]

Food

The seeds, petioles,[2][27] and rhizomes are used as food.[2]

Other uses

Root extracts are used as black dye.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b "Victoria R.H.Schomb". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Smith, Lucy T; Magdalena, Carlos; Przelomska, Natalia A. S.; Pérez-Escobar, Oscar A.; Antonelli, Alexandre K.; Melgar-Gómez, Darío G.; Beck, Stephan; Negrão, Raquel; Mian, Sahr; Leitch, Ilia J.; Dodsworth, Steven; Maurin, Olivier; Ribero-Guardia, Gaston; Salazar, César D.; Gutierrez-Sibauty, Gloria (4 July 2022). "Revised Species Delimitation in the Giant Water Lily Genus Victoria (Nymphaeaceae) Confirms a New Species and Has Implications for Its Conservation". Frontiers in Plant Science. 13: 883151. doi:10.3389/fpls.2022.883151. PMC 9289450. PMID 35860537.
  3. ^ a b Victoria R.H.Schomb. (n.d.). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved November 28, 2024, from https://www.ipni.org/n/77296000-1
  4. ^ Horton, Helena (4 July 2022). "Third species of giant waterlily discovered at Kew Gardens". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pellegrini, M.O.O. Nymphaeaceae in Flora e Funga do Brasil. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. Available at: https://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/FB24052 consulta.publica.uc.citacao.acesso.em28 Nov. 2024
  6. ^ Knotts, K., & Knotts, B. (n.d.). Introduction to Victoria. Victoria Adventure. Retrieved November 28, 2024, from https://victoria-adventure.com/victoria/victoria_intro.html
  7. ^ a b c d Henkel, F., Rehnelt, F., Dittmann, L. (1907). Das Buch der Nymphaeaceen oder Seerosengewächse. pp. 40–44. Deutschland: Henkel.
  8. ^ Gessner, F. (1950). Die Stomatoden des Victoria-Blattes: Zum hundertsten Geburtstag eines umstrittenen Problems. Planta, 38, 123-131.
  9. ^ Die Victoria. (2013, February 26). Botanischer Garten Berlin. Retrieved November 28, 2024, from https://www.bgbm.org/de/infotainment/die-victoria
  10. ^ a b Warner, K. A., Rudall, P. J., & Frohlich, M. W. (2008). Differentiation of Perianth Organs in Nymphaeales. Taxon, 57(4), 1096–1109. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27756767
  11. ^ a b Seymour, R. S., & Matthews, P. G. (2006). The role of thermogenesis in the pollination biology of the Amazon waterlily Victoria amazonica. Annals of Botany, 98(6), 1129-1135.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i Schneider, E. L. (1976). The floral anatomy of Victoria Schomb.(Nymphaeaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 72(2), 115-148.
  13. ^ a b de Lima, C. T., Machado, I. C., & Giulietti, A. M. (2021). Nymphaeaceae of Brasil. Sitientibus série Ciências Biológicas, 21.
  14. ^ Pellicer, J., Kelly, L. J., Magdalena, C., & Leitch, I. J. (2013). Insights into the dynamics of genome size and chromosome evolution in the early diverging angiosperm lineage Nymphaeales (water lilies). Genome, 56(8), 437-449.
  15. ^ Missouri Botanical Garden. (n.d.-b). Victoria R.H. Schomb. Tropicos. Retrieved November 30, 2024, from http://legacy.tropicos.org/Name/100535949
  16. ^ a b United States Department of Agriculture & Agricultural Research Service. (n.d.). Victoria Lindl. Germplasm Resource Information Network (GRIN). Retrieved November 28, 2024, from https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomygenus?id=12702
  17. ^ Victoria Lindl. (n.d.). WFO Plant List | World Flora Online. Retrieved November 28, 2024, from https://wfoplantlist.org/taxon/wfo-4000040238-2024-06?page=1
  18. ^ Parodi, Lorenzo R. (1959). Encyclopedia Argentina de Agricultura y Jardineria. Buenos Aires: Editorial Acme S.A.C.I. p. 351.
  19. ^ Morelle, Rebecca (4 July 2022). "Scientists discover new giant water lily species". BBC News. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  20. ^ Song, W., Shi, W., Wang, H., Zhang, Z., Tao, R., Liu, J., ... & Shi, C. (2024). Comparative analysis of 12 water lily plastid genomes reveals genomic divergence and evolutionary relationships in early flowering plants. Marine Life Science & Technology, 6(3), 425-441.
  21. ^ Löhne, C., Yoo, M., Borsch, T., Wiersema, J., Wilde, V., Bell, C.D., Barthlott, W., Soltis, D.E. and Soltis, P.S. (2008), Biogeography of Nymphaeales: extant patterns and historical events. Taxon, 57: 1123-19E.
  22. ^ He, D., Gichira, A. W., Li, Z., Nzei, J. M., Guo, Y., Wang, Q., & Chen, J. (2018). Intergeneric relationships within the early-diverging angiosperm family Nymphaeaceae based on chloroplast phylogenomics. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 19(12), 3780.
  23. ^ Loehne, C., Borsch, T., & Wiersema, J. H. (2007). Phylogenetic analysis of Nymphaeales using fast-evolving and noncoding chloroplast markers. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 154(2), 141-163.
  24. ^ Roestel, J. A., Wiersema, J. H., Jansen, R. K., Borsch, T., & Gruenstaeudl, M. (2024). On the importance of sequence alignment inspections in plastid phylogenomics–an example from revisiting the relationships of the water‐lilies. Cladistics.
  25. ^ Knotts, K. (n.d.). Victoria’s History. Victoria Adventure. Retrieved November 28, 2024, from https://victoria-adventure.com/victoria/victoria_history.html
  26. ^ M Cramer, J., Meeuse, A. D. J., & Teunissen, P. A. (1975). A note on the pollination of nocturnally flowering species of Nymphaea. Acta Botanica Neerlandica, 24(5/6), 489-490.
  27. ^ a b Victoria amazonica Giant waterlily. (n.d.). Kew. Retrieved November 28, 2024, from https://www.kew.org/plants/giant-waterlily
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