A new species of giant waterlily, named Victoria colombiana, has been discovered in the Colombian jungle. The plant, which can be seen from space, is already considered critically endangered.
The discovery began three years ago when Carlos Magdalena, a waterlily expert at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, saw a photo on Instagram of giant waterlilies in the Inírida River. He suspected the species was unusual as the more common Victoria amazonica does not typically grow in that area.
After analysing satellite imagery and securing permits, Magdalena led an expedition with a team from the Jardín Botánico in Bogotá. They located a population of the waterlilies in a small lake deep within the flooded rainforest.
A paper published on Friday in the journal Phytotaxa formally confirmed it as a new species. The team estimates there are only between 30 and 50 Victoria colombiana waterlilies in the wild, making them extremely rare.