The Smallest Water Lily in the World

Nymphaea thermarum. Also known as the smallest water lily in the world, or the “Pygmy Rwandan water lily” if you’d like. At first glance, you’d notice that this plant has small white flowers and pads that only reach an adorable 1 centimetre in diameter.

Source: DiscoverandShare.org

Despite being delightful to look at, the sad reality is that Nymphaea thermarum are actually extinct in the wild. This means that the only populations that exist on our planet are surviving through cultivation, as their presence is longer reported in their native geographical range. The only place you can find them are at Kew Gardens (formally The Royal Botanical Gardens) in the United Kingdom and in Bonn Botanic Gardens, in Germany.

In both botanical gardens, we see ex situ conservation taking place. This is technique to conserve species outside of their native habitat. There are over 50 Nymphaea thermarum plants in the Waterlily House at Kew Gardens, which is the only place in the world where they are being propagated regularly.

Source: INaturalist.org

This species was endemic – or native – to a hot springs in Mashyuza, Rwanda, which are only a few square metres in size. The plant could only thrive in this location due to the fact that overflow of the freshwater hot spring would dampen the mud around the plants and cool water down to a specific temperature of 25˚C.

So why did Nymphaea thermarum go extinct in their native habitat? The waterlilies disappeared due to local agriculture that diverted the stream feeding the hot springs back in 2008. Overexploitation of the springs meant that plants could not maintain moisture or sustain a constant temperature. It is truly a shame that Nymphaea thermarum were classified as extinct in the wild less than 30 years after being discovered. Although numerous other hot springs in Central Africa were searched, researchers could not find any other populations.

Source: Sander Dekker (YouTube)

What next? The water within the Mashyuza hot springs are still flowing but is sequestered before it reaches the surface. As of right now, the recommended action of conservation is site protection and restoration. If the environment is restored, a re-introduction programme could be put into place to reintroduce Nymphaea thermarum to it’s native habitat. I truly hope to hear about this one day!

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I was lucky enough to visit the Kew Gardens this past November. It was always a place on my bucket-list, and I finally got to check it off. I did explore The Waterlily House, however, I didn’t get a chance to take a photo of Nymphaea thermarum (the idea of this blog post didn’t exist in my brain at the time). Here are some photos:

 

Fun Fact: Not THE most fun piece of information, but, in 2014 one of the water lilies was stolen from Kew Gardens. Yeah, no fun at all. They never caught the individuals that stole the plant, but my guess would be that they knew exactly what they were doing. Out of ALL the plants to steal at Kew Gardens, getting your hands on Nymphaea thermarum is oddly specific. If any of you see them on the market somewhere, let Scotland Yard know.

Sources:

• IUCN Red List
• Scientific American
• The Guardian

Rafflesia arnoldii, the world’s largest flower

You’d think that a plant called the “stinking corpse lily” would not be too pleasant to look at. However, this flower is aesthetically alluring. The troublesome element of Rafflesia arnoldii is their smell, which is similar to that of decaying meat. They use their odor to attract insects such as flies and other pollinators in order to perpetuate the species. Because these plants don’t produce chlorophyll, they can’t complete the entire process of the photosynthesis. As a result, their smell is the only way of survival. Unfortunately, only 10-20% of the seedlings make it. To make matters worse, it only blossoms from 3 to 7 days, every nine months.

As previously mentioned, Rafflesia arnoldii is the largest individually produced flower in the world. They have the potential to grow 3 feet across and weigh up to 25 pounds. Even though they lack any visible leaves, stems or roots, they are still considered vascular plants. Their buds are often used for traditional medicine, such as promoting delivery and recovery during and after childbirth. They are also used as an aphrodisiac. None of these uses are chemically proven, but these plants are an iconic symbol of southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, and have a superstitious meaning surrounding them.

This species is endemic, meaning that it is unique to the defined geographic location of southeastern Asian rain forests. Rafflesia arnoldii are parasitic plants that live on the vines of Tetrastigma, a genus of plants in the grape family. They obtain nutrients and water from their hosts. 

 

Rafflesia arnoldii are listed as critically endangered, and there are a variety of reasons for this. As mentioned above, only one-fifth of their seedlings go on to be successful, their buds take months to develop, and the duration that they are in blossom is extremely short. Additionally, the flowers are unisexual, meaning that successful pollination only occurs when the pollinators have traveled to both the male and female plants. Because of the uniqueness of this plant, they garner a lot of attention by tourists which often results in disturbed bud production. Eco-tourism is trying its best to raise awareness and increase conservation efforts in the hopes of saving these plants.

 

References

10 of the World’s Strangest Plant Species

Information regarding Rafflesia arnoldii

The World’s Largest Flower

The Art of Botanical Architecture

There are a number of buildings that catch our eye as we’re driving down the highway, or walking through downtown Toronto, but a German design group has taken building architecture to a whole new level. Professor Gerd de Bruyn of the University of Stuttgart initiated a project called “Baubotanik” which translates to “living plant construction”. Baubotanik consists of engineers, architects and natural scientists that focus on transforming trees and plants into living botanical structures.

 

 

These structures combine non-living material and living vegetation that take a few decades to grow, depending on the plants used. Professor de Bruyn describes it as “single plants merge into a new and bigger overall organism”. Plants are the primary components of each building, therefore increasing spatial and aesthetic quality. Not to mention, these buildings literally produce oxygen, and lock in carbon.

One of the many goals of Baubotanik is to utilize these buildings in growing metropolises and urban areas as three-dimensional  “pocket parks”. This would create ecologically friendly spaces within densely populated cities while taking up minimal area. A great advantage of having a botanical building is the fact that, they are self-repairing! These buildings always adjust their growth to the environmental factors of that particular location and repair damages on their own. As these plants grow, less scaffolding and metal beams are necessary to provide support, and are therefore removed. In many cases, you can end up with an entirely living structure.

There are three types of buildings that differ in shape:

1. Plane-Tree-Cube Nagold: the largest of the three buildings, and the most likely to be utilized within urban settings. Primarily uses the tree Platanus acerifolia.
2. The Baubotanik Tower: an area of eight square metres and a height of nine metres, with 3 walk-able levels.
3. The Footbridge: built with approximately 12-15 common osier (Salix viminalis) plants. This particular species of plant absorbs the load of the bridge and redirects it into the ground, where the structure is anchored by its roots.

 

 

The process of creating these buildings include planning out the technical, conceptual, economical and botanical aspects of each structure. A lot of time and effort is taken to decide what species of plants would be best suited for the type of structure that is being built. Baubotanik has tested many types of plants in order to determine what are the most appropriate ecologically and structurally for buildings. They looked for plants that could grow particularly long, be able to bend around a narrow radii, and have the potential of bark or wood tissue fusion. Their research concluded that plane trees (Platanus acerifolia) were the best suited species of tree for these breathing buildings.

At first glance, this may seem like a modern concept. However, these types of buildings can be found in a variety of cultural contexts throughout history. This “prehistorical bio-engineering” has previously been used in Europe, where communities would take advantage of this particular gardening technology. Today, this botanical technique is practiced by a tribe called Khasi, in the Indian rain forest. They utilize the roots of rubber trees, by intertwining them into a net-like structure. Eventually, the entire structure grows together and forms a living bridge.

 

Baubotanik Website

Article by Seeker