Victoria cruziana
Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox
Victoria cruziana (Santa Cruz water lily, water platter, yrupe, synonym Victoria argentina Burmeist.) is a tropical species of flowering plant, of the Nymphaeaceae family of water lilies native to South America, primarily Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay.
Description
The plant is a popular water garden plant in botanical gardens where its very large leaves can reach their fullest, up to 2 m wide with a thick rim up to 20 cm high,<ref name="Kew">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> although rims up to 23 cm have been recorded.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It can be grown in cooler waters than its sisters within the genus, the more familiar giant waterlily, Victoria amazonica and the recently discovered Victoria boliviana.<ref name=Lamprecht>Template:Cite journal</ref> A 25 cm diameter flower blooms for two days, arising from the underwater bud, as a white flower that turns to a deep pink on the second and final day of its bloom. V. cruziana is a thermogenetic or heat-producing plant.<ref>Lamprecht, I., et al. A Tropical Water Lily with Strong Thermogenic Behaviour—Thermometric and Thermographic Investigations on Victoria cruziana. Thermochimica Acta, vol. 382, no. 1-2, 2002, pp. 199–210., doi:10.1016/s0040-6031(01)00734-1.</ref><ref>Wu, Q., et al. Relationship between the Flavonoid Composition and Flower Colour Variation in Victoria. Plant Biology, vol. 20, no. 4, 2018, pp. 674–681., doi:10.1111/plb.12835.</ref> The floral stigma are attached to a cup that is protected by spines, and the floral cup begins heating up in the bud, then, as the flower opens, it releases a strong sweet scent to attract pollinating beetles of the genus Cyclocephala of the family Scarabaeidae,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> then continues to provide heat to the flower while the beetles are pollinating.<ref name=Lamprecht /><ref name=Lamprecht2>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Cytology
The diploid chromosome count of Victoria cruziana is 2n = 24.<ref name = "Pellicer et al., 2013">Template:Cite journal</ref> The chloroplast genome is 158993 bp long.<ref name = "Gruenstaeudl et al., 2017">Gruenstaeudl, M., Nauheimer, L., & Borsch, T. (2017). Plastid genome structure and phylogenomics of Nymphaeales: conserved gene order and new insights into relationships. Plant systematics and evolution, 303, 1251-1270.</ref>
Taxonomy
Victoria cruziana was discovered in Bolivia on one of many expeditions through the country by Alcide d'Orbigny whose presence was sponsored by Andrés de Santa Cruz. The first collected specimens were returned to France where they were named in honor of Santa Cruz by Alcide's brother, Charles Henry Dessalines d'Orbigny.Template:Citation needed
It was first described in 1840 by Alcide d'Orbigny in Annales des Sciences Naturelles; Botanique, Ser. 2, 13, p. 57.<ref name="Tropicos c479">Template:Cite web</ref> Synonyms for Victoria cruziana A.D.Orb. are: Victoria argentina Burmeist. noun nud., Victoria cruziana var. malmei F.Henkel et al., Victoria cruziana f. matogrossensis Malme, Victoria cruziana f. trickeri F.Henkel ex Malme, Victoria cruziana var. trickeri F.Henkel et al., Victoria regia var (A.D.Orb.) C.Lawson, Victoria trickeri (F.Henkel ex Malme) hort. ex Mutzek.