The botanical discovery of a lifetime has been made, not in the Amazon rainforest or high Himalayas, but in the middle of one of the world's busiest public gardens.
A previously unknown species of giant water lily has been discovered by staff at London's Kew Gardens. For the last 177 years, it has been growing right under their noses.
The plant whose floating leaves grow to over 320 centimetres across has been described as a 'botanical wonder of the world'. The previously unknown species of lily is thought to be the world's biggest and produces blooms only at night. These nocturnal flowers are larger than a human head.
![The pads of V Boliviana are large enough to support a brave six-year-old boy. Photo / Supplied, RBG Kew](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/IDCRUYH6LF3JY7RGOCXULUSS6U.jpg?auth=79a8ac66452bbaf63f667d0621ff55c24e1058d8b2ce76191d9dedae2bfa581a&width=16&height=12&quality=70&smart=true)
The plant, originally mislabelled, came to the pleasure gardens from South America in 1845. Its offspring has been bobbing around in the greenhouse pond ever since.