Victoria Cruz ( lat. Victoria cruziana ) - a large herbaceous , aquatic tropical plant ; species of the genus Victoria of the family Nymphaeaceae .
| Victoria Cruz | |||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| International scientific name | |||||||||||||||||||||
Victoria cruziana Orb. , 1840 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Synonyms | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Genus Victoria is named after the British Queen Victoria (1819-1901). The species epithet cruziana was given in honor of Andrés de Santa Cruz (1792–1865), the president of Peru and Bolivia, who sponsored an expedition to Bolivia, during which the first specimens of this species were collected.
The species is native to subtropical South America, where it is common in Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia [2] .
Root water grass covered with thorns, except for the upper surface of leaves and flowers.
Bright green leaf blades up to 2 m wide, with thick rims (inverted leaf edges) up to 20 cm high, which distinguish it from a close relative of Victoria amazonica [3] .
Leaf blades have a waxy surface that helps repel water. The leaves are green on both sides (the bottom is sometimes reddish), smooth on top, but with abundant sharp spikes at the bottom, which may serve as protection against herbivorous fish and manatees . The reverse side is mesh with protruding veins.
Leaf blades float freely and are attached to the rhizome with a long, flexible thread (stem).
The flower is large, floating, creamy white, becomes light pink on the second night after pollination. Long peduncles emerge from the underground rhizome growing in the silt of the river bottom. Flower buds are spiky only at the base (unlike V. amazonica , which are completely spiky).
Pollination produces the beetle Cylocephata castanea , attracted by a floral aroma [3] .
The fruits are large, prickly, berry-like. Seeds are numerous, up to 10 mm in diameter, hemispherical.
Victoria Cruz requires a certain habitat (slow, shallow reservoirs), which may be threatened by climate change and the associated increase in flooding. Deforestation (removal of forests from areas around its habitat) also poses a potential threat, as this can lead to a decrease in water quality.
Victoria Cruz Flower
The lower side of the leaves with veins
Victoria Cruz in the Nancy Botanical Garden
Notes
- ↑ For the conventionality of indicating the class of dicotyledons as a superior taxon for the plant group described in this article, see the APG Systems section of the Dicotyledonous article .
- ↑ Nash, Helen. Complete guide to water garden plants. - New York: Sterling Publishing, 2003 .-- P. 70-71. - ISBN 1402709544 .
- ↑ 1 2 Lamprecht, I; E. Schmolz; S. Hilsberg; S. Schlegel. A tropical water lily with strong thermogenic behavior - thermometric and thermographic investigations on Victoria cruziana // Thermochimica Act: journal. - 2002. - Vol. 382 . - P. 199-210 . - DOI : 10.1016 / s0040-6031 (01) 00734-1 .