Giant Waterlily icon

Giant Waterlily

Water & Wetland Plant

An Amazon waterlily whose table-sized floating pads can hold a small child — and whose ribs inspired the Crystal Palace.

Giant Waterlily
Giant Waterlily

💡 Fun Facts

  • Its floating leaf pads are as big as a dinner table and strong enough to hold a small child.
  • The pattern of ribs under its giant leaves inspired the roof of the Crystal Palace in 1851.
  • Its flowers open white at night, trap a beetle, then turn pink and let it go the next night covered in pollen.

📅 Through the Year

  • Flowering:July to September

🎴 Field Research Data Cards

Picture
Units

Giant Waterlily

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Giant Waterlily
PollinationBeetles — the white night-flower traps a beetle, then turns pink and releases it the next night dusted with pollen
Seed DispersalWater — seeds float, then sink and spread along the river
DefencesSharp spines cover the leaf underside and stalks (to deter fish)
Special AbilityA giant circular leaf, braced by a radiating framework of ribs, spreads its weight across the water
Flowering SeasonFlowers at night through the warm season; each bloom lasts about two nights
Seeds / YearHundreds of seeds per fruit
Human UsesA botanic showpiece; its leaf-rib structure inspired Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace — a famous example of biomimicry
Record TraitLargest leaf of any waterlily — floating pads up to about 3 m across, able to bear tens of kilograms