How a plant selfie in Colombian jungle led to ‘jaw dropping’ giant waterlily find

Species with leaves large enough to be seen from space is already critically endangered – and plans are afoot to protect it

A chance social media encounter has led to the race-against-time discovery of a new species of giant waterlily that has until now been hidden in the depths of Colombia’s jungle.

But the plant, which is so huge it is visible from space, is already considered critically endangered.

Giant waterlilies, which can measure up to three metres across and carry the weight of a small child, are one of the oldest flowering plants in the world still alive today. They existed before the continents split apart and are present throughout culture, from the Egyptians to Monet.

Three years ago, while scrolling through Instagram, Carlos Magdalena, a world-renowned waterlily expert at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, came across a photo of someone swimming among several giant waterlilies in the Inírida River in Guainía, Colombia.

Jeremiah Harris, who took the photo and who runs a carnivorous plant nursery in the US, was not aware of its significance, having mistakenly identified the waterlily as the more common Victoria amazonica.

However, when Magdalena saw the photo, he “immediately suspected” something was unusual as the natural range of the Victoria amazonica does not extend to the Inírida River.

He messaged Harris to track down the exact location and spent several years analysing satellite imagery and securing the funds and necessary permits to allow him to verify the presence of the waterlily for himself.

Along with a team from the Jardín Botánico in Bogotá and members of the local indigenous reserves, Magdalena went on a five-day expedition deep into the rainforest.

They spent several days exploring the flooded jungle with no luck, until, at the last moment, their driver advised them where to look. With only 10 hours left until their return flight, the team sailed overnight in total darkness to a small lake deep in the flooded rainforest, where they located a population of the waterlilies.

“It was so emotional I shed a tear, it was one of those moments that will remain with me for life,” Magdalena said. “Coming across something like this is absolutely totally fascinating, it’s jaw dropping.

“Giant waterlilies give away their secrets slowly,” he said. “It’s remarkable. We believe we know everything but the reality is we don’t, there’s lots of things still to be discovered and protected.”

The team collected the material needed to begin a formal identification, with a paper published on Friday in the journal Phytotaxa confirming it as a new species to science. The waterlily has been given the official name Victoria colombiana. There are just three other known giant waterlilies.

Harris, who is an author of the study, said his friends always teased him for taking selfies with plants, but the fact this one ended in the discovery of a new species was “incredible”.