The mystery photo that you just saw is a Victoria Water Lily,
or a Giant Water Lily.
The water lily is basically a
large floating leaf, sometimes over four feet in diameter! The top surface of
the leaf is green, while the underside is a dark purple. The spanish name for
the water lily is "sabana del lagarto", which translates to "alligator
sheet." This name refers to the bottom of the leaf which is covered in hundreds
of spines to warn predators to stay away.
The giant water lily
grows a beautiful flower that turns purple when it closes during the day and turns
white when it opens during the night. At night, the open flower attracts a type
of beetle that pollinates the flower so that it can reproduce. The beetle becomes
trapped and therefore forced to pollinate when the flower closes. That's one smart
plant!
This
picture was taken around sunset. The flower was just beginning to open and become
whiter as night approached.
