Victoria amazonica also called Victoria regia is a species of flowering plant, the second largest of the water lily family Nymphaeaceae. It is called Uape Jacana in Brazil and its Inca (Quechua) name is Atun Sisac. Its native region is tropical South America, specifically Guyana and the Amazon Basin. Description The Victoria amazonica has very large leaves (lamina) (and commonly called "pads" or "lily pads"), up to in diameter, that float on the water's surface on a submerged stalk (petiole), in length, rivaling the length of the green anaconda, a snake local to its habitat. These leaves are enormously buoyant if the weight is distributed evenly over the entire surface of the leaf (as by a piece of plywood, which should be of neutral buoyancy). In 1896 a V. amazonica leaf at Tower Grove Park, Saint Louis, Missouri bore the "unprecedented" weight of 250 pounds (113.6 kg). However, in 1867 William Sowerby of Regents Park Botanic Garden in London placed 426 pounds (193.9 kg) on a leaf only 5' 6" (168 cm) in diameter. One leaf of a specimen grown in Ghent, Belgium bore a load of 498 pounds (226 kg) It is the second-largest waterlily in the world. V. amazonica is native to the shallow waters of the Amazon River basin, such as oxbow lakes and bayous. In their native habitat, the flowers first begin to open as the sun starts to set and can take up to 48 hours to fully open. These flowers can grow up to 40 cm (16 in) in diameter. Each plant continues to produce flowers for a full growing season, and they have co-evolved a mutualistic relationship with a species of scarab beetle of the genus Cyclocephala as a pollinator. All the buds in a single patch will begin to open at the same time and as they do, they give off a fruity smell. At this point the flower petals are white, and the beetles are attracted both to the colour and the smell of the flower. At nightfall the flower stops producing the odor, and it closes, trapping the beetles inside its carpellary appendages. Here, the stamens are protected by the paracarpels and for the next day the flower continues to remain closed. The cavity in which the beetle is trapped is composed of a spongy, starchy tissue that provides nourishment for the beetle. During this time, anthocyanins start to be