A Selfie Revealed a New Giant Waterlily in Colombia
Botanists have formally described Victoria colombiana, a giant waterlily from Colombia's jungle, as a new species to science. The description was published in the journal Phytotaxa. Only 30 to 50 wild plants are known, and it is listed as critically endangered. The Guardian
Victoria colombiana brings the Victoria genus — the group of giant waterlilies — to four recognised species. It joins Victoria amazonica and Victoria boliviana, among others. These plants occur in white-water and occasionally black-water habitats, rivers that run pale with sediment or dark with decayed leaves, in the Amazonian and Paraná river basins.
The find began on social media. Jeremiah Harris, who runs a carnivorous plant nursery in the US, posted an Instagram image of himself swimming among giant waterlilies in the Inírida River in Guainía, Colombia. The new plant was visible in the background of the selfie. Harris had identified the plant in his photo as Victoria amazonica.
The location did not fit. The natural range of Victoria amazonica does not extend to the Inírida River. Plants of the World Online lists its native range as south-eastern Colombia and describes it as a rhizomatous hydrogeophyte — a water plant that regrows from underground stems — growing mainly in the wet tropical biome, but recent taxonomic work excludes the Inírida system from that range.
Carlos Magdalena, a waterlily expert at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, suspected a new species after seeing the Instagram photo. He messaged Harris to track down the exact location. He then spent several years analysing satellite imagery and securing funds and permits to verify the plant. Plant taxonomist Maarten Christenhusz said the new giant waterlily can be seen from space.
Verification required fieldwork. The expedition was a five-day trip deep into the rainforest with a team from the Jardín Botánico in Bogotá and members of local indigenous reserves. Documenting and formally describing Victoria colombiana took a five-year journey after the first sighting.
In size, it fits its genus. Giant waterlily pads can measure up to three metres across and can carry the weight of a small child. Kew's submission to the 2026 Waterlily Weigh-Off was a single Victoria boliviana leaf that held up 102kg. Kew
There is recent precedent for overlooked diversity in this group. Victoria boliviana had sat unrecognised in Kew's Herbarium — a scientific collection of preserved plants — for over 100 years before it was recognised as a new species. Its discovery was the first of its type in more than a century. Victoria boliviana is the largest giant waterlily species in the world, with leaves growing over 10 feet wide. It was named after Bolivia. It grows in a single water basin in part of the Amazon river system in Bolivia. BBC
The broader context here is about method as much as taxonomy. Social media supplied the first signal, satellite imagery kept the hypothesis alive through years without access, and collaboration with the Jardín Botánico in Bogotá and members of local indigenous reserves supplied the field verification. For specialists, that sequence matters. Hidden Victoria populations in white-water and black-water systems are difficult to survey, herbarium material can conceal distinct species for decades, and very small populations can persist undetected in remote basins.
Looking at what this means for conservation practice, the numbers leave little margin. Thirty to 50 plants in a single river system combines a narrow range with exposure to hydrological change, habitat disturbance and collection pressure. Formal description in Phytotaxa gives conservation authorities, herbaria and living collections a valid name to list, monitor and cultivate. Whether that translates into protection on the ground in Guainía will depend on follow-up survey, study of population genetics and sustained work with the indigenous reserves that enabled access.
