Instagram photos of giant water lilies in Colombia lead researchers to new species

An Instagram post revealed an unknown giant water lily. In December 2021, Colorado carnivorous plant grower Jeremiah Harris shared photos of giant water lilies growing in Colombia’s Inírida River and identified them as Victoria Amazonica. However, water lily expert Carlos Magdalena noticed that no known Victoria species had been recorded in that part of the upper Orinoco basin. He suspected the photographs showed a previously undescribed species and used satellite imagery to search the Inírida River and its surrounding lakes, confirming the plants' presence.

Magdalena and his colleagues then conducted a five-day expedition with members of local Indigenous communities. Their research eventually led to the formal description of a new species, Victoria Colombiana.

After seeing Harris’ photographs, Magdalena used satellite images to examine the Inírida River and nearby lakes. The plants’ leaves were large enough to identify from space, confirming that giant water lilies were growing in the area.

A research team later travelled to Inírida for a five-day expedition. It included members of the Atabapo River Indigenous reserves, including one participant who remembered seeing the plants in childhood.

The search initially found only two lilies, neither with a flower. That prevented the researchers from making a reliable comparison because flower structures help botanists distinguish between closely related species.

On the expedition’s final night, boat captain Gustavo Melo, a member of the Indigenous Tucano community, told the researchers about another location. At 1 a.m., he led them to a small lake where they found five additional plants, including one in bloom. The team collected the material it needed before returning for a 9 a.m. flight to Bogotá.

“This is one of those extraordinary stories where indigenous and horticultural knowledge, with the help of social media and technology, came together to uncover a truly extraordinary botanical achievement,” Magdalena said in a statement.

The collected flower and other plant material allowed researchers to distinguish the Inírida lilies from previously recognised members of the genus. Researchers published the findings in the scientific journal Phytotaxa, where they formally described the plant as Victoria Colombiana. The same study recognised another species, Victoria Mattogrossensis, from South America’s Pantanal region.

Researchers estimate that just 30 to 50 Victoria Colombiana plants remain in the wild. The species is known only from a limited area, where changing water conditions and other environmental pressures could affect its survival. The team is working to have it classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

“Now that we know this water lily exists, our responsibility is to understand it better and protect it. With so many plants in the wild threatened with extinction, we simply cannot wait any longer to take action,” Magdalena added.

Researchers are considering establishing a naturalised population in a more accessible lake within Indigenous territory. They also hope to cultivate the species at the Bogotá Botanical Garden so researchers can study and protect it outside its known habitat. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew says it is even developing the conservation plans for these water lilies with local indigenous communities.