Mid-July is expected to be the best time to see the 150 giant water lilies in the Aquatic Garden of Chenshan Botanical Garden in Shanghai. The lilies are growing to their utmost and the largest leaves have grown to 1.3 meters in diameter.
There are several species in the Aquatic Garden such as victoria cruziana, victoria amazonica and longwood. The flowers close during the day and open at night, and one flower only lasts for three days.
In the evening of the first day, the flowers bloom in white. On the second evening, it will bloom again in pink or dark red. On the last day the flowers close and sink in the water to bear fruit. It is named "fickle queen" for its changing colors.
The giant water lily was originally found in the Amazon River of South America in 1801. It is also called Victoria regia in memory of the British queen Victoria. The leaf of the giant water lily can grow to 2 meters at most and carry 50 kilograms' weight. A flower has fifty or sixty petals.
In addition, during this period, some other aquatic plants such as hydrocleys nymphoides and cattails and the plants along the bank of the pool including gingko and tulbaghia violacea are also in the flowering and fruiting period.
The leaves of the 300 giant water lilies in the Jing Lake of Quarry Garden and Shenjing River are not yet ready, so the visitors still need to wait.
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| Visitors to feast eyes on grand water lily in Chenshan |
By Tana
Edited by Fu Bo and Emily Cheng
