New 'giant water lily' species discovered thanks to a selfie in the Colombian jungle

A chance encounter on social media has led to the discovery of a new species of giant water lily hidden deep in the Colombian jungle. The plant grows so large it can be seen from space, but it is now classified as critically endangered.

Giant water lilies, whose pads can reach three metres in diameter and are strong enough to hold a child, are among the oldest flowering plants still in existence. They were present before the continents drifted apart and have appeared in cultures from ancient Egypt to the paintings of Monet.

Three years ago, while scrolling through Instagram, Carlos Magdalena, the world's leading expert on water lilies at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, came across a photo of a person swimming among giant water lilies in the Inírida River in the Guainía region of Colombia. The photographer, Jeremiah Harris, who owns a carnivorous plant nursery in the United States, did not realise its significance and mistook it for the more common Victoria amazonica.

But when he saw the image, Magdalena "immediately suspected" something was unusual, because the natural range of Victoria amazonica does not extend to the Inírida River. He messaged Harris to pinpoint the location and spent years analysing satellite imagery, securing funding and obtaining the necessary permits to verify the plant's presence for himself.

Together with a team from the Bogotá Botanical Garden and members of local Indigenous reserves, Magdalena undertook a five-day expedition deep into the rainforest. They spent days exploring the flooded forest without luck, until at the last moment their driver tipped them off on where to look. With only 10 hours left before their flight home, the team rowed through the night in complete darkness to a small lake deep in the flooded forest, where they found a population of giant water lilies.

"I was so moved that I cried; it was one of those moments that will stay with me for the rest of my life," Magdalena said. "Coming across something like this is truly completely fascinating, it's astonishing."

"Giant water lilies reveal their secrets slowly," he said. "It's extraordinary. We think we know everything, but in reality we don't; there is still so much waiting to be discovered and protected."

The team collected the specimens needed to begin the formal identification process. A paper published on Friday in the journal Phytotaxa confirmed it as a species new to science. The water lily has been officially named Victoria colombiana. Only three other species of giant water lily are currently known.

Harris, a co-author of the study, said friends often teased him for liking to take selfies with plants, but that this photo leading to the discovery of a new species was "unbelievable". "I was incredibly excited, absolutely overjoyed," he said.

Magdalena said: "This is one of those extraordinary stories where Indigenous knowledge and horticulture, together with the help of social media and technology, have converged to uncover a truly extraordinary botanical achievement."

The research team estimates that only about 30 to 50 Victoria colombiana plants remain in the wild, making them extremely rare and at risk of extinction.

Maarten Christenhusz, a plant taxonomist who analysed the specimens, said new species are found all the time, but few are "as large, spectacular and iconic as this one. This new giant water lily can even be seen from space, an astonishing reminder of how much we still do not know about life on our planet".

The team is aiming to have the species added to the official Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Efforts are also under way to support its long-term conservation, including the possible establishment of a naturalised population in a more accessible lake within Indigenous territory. Researchers hope to continue collecting seeds to grow in Bogotá. If successful, the water lily could be cultivated at Kew Gardens.