News & Events

Giant water lily in the Botanical Garden

23.08.2018

The extraordinary flowers of the Santa Cruz water lily are opening in the Botanical Garden. Each flower opens on two consecutive nights - the first night it is white, on the second night it turns pink.

The white flower opens in the early evening and is scented to attract and temporarily trap a beetle (Cylocephata castaneal) that pollinates the plant. The flower turns pink or red the following day and lowers back into the water. The hollow veins in the huge leaves give strength and buoyancy. [read more]

(c) Martin Rose