Satellite images suggest that Victoria colombiana, the giant waterlily newly described by scientists in Colombia and London, may grow only within the Estrella Fluvial de Inírida, a wetland of international importance between the Guaviare and Inírida rivers, Colombian outlet El Morichal reported. With an estimated 30 to 50 wild plants, that means nearly the entire species lives in one protected landscape in Colombia's Guainía department.

That narrow footprint shifts the story from discovery to protection — and to the people who will do the protecting. The plant's survival now depends on a few lagoons, on the Indigenous communities who live around them and helped find it, and on a seed program at the Bogotá Botanical Garden José Celestino Mutis.

It also matters beyond Colombia. Giant waterlilies are star attractions at botanical gardens in the United States and Europe, and the waterlily order belongs to one of the earliest-branching lineages of flowering plants still alive today, according to a 2020 genome study in Nature. Losing a species from that ancient group would mean losing part of the deep history of flowers.

From Instagram Find to One Wetland

Nature World News previously reported on how an Instagram selfie led Kew botanists to Victoria colombiana, the first clue to a plant that, its finders say, can be seen from space. That earlier report focused on the social media discovery and the last-night expedition that found a flowering plant.

Since then, details have emerged about where the species lives and how it might be protected. The team used satellite imagery to identify a third lake holding the plant, beyond the two lakes surveyed on foot, according to BBC Wildlife's Discover Wildlife. The species' pads reach up to 6.6 feet (2 meters) across.

The Estrella Fluvial de Inírida became a Ramsar wetland of international importance in 2014, and its savannas also shelter the rare Inírida flower, Mongabay has reported. Ramsar status recognizes a wetland's global value but does not by itself guarantee protection for any single plant.

Indigenous Knowledge Behind the Flower Sample

The flower was the scientific turning point. Botanists need a blooming plant to collect a fertile herbarium specimen, the reference sample that lets them separate a new species from its relatives. After days of finding only plants without flowers, the team followed Indigenous Tucano boatman Gustavo Melo overnight to a small lake where one plant was in bloom.

Colombian reporting has since emphasized how much local knowledge shaped the work. The Bogotá city government said the research brought together scientific knowledge and the knowledge of members of Indigenous communities in the region — and BBC News Mundo reported that community members are among the authors of the paper in the journal Phytotaxa. El Morichal reported that Guainía communities had known the plant for years before science named it.

"It was crazy. Our eyes were shining," Bogotá Botanical Garden researcher Mauricio Bernal told BBC News Mundo, describing the moment the team found the flower (translated from Spanish). The specimens were deposited at the garden's herbarium in Bogotá.

A Seed Bank and a Second Home

With so few plants, the team is working on several safeguards at once. The Bogotá Botanical Garden plans to keep collecting seeds to grow plants under controlled conditions, and the researchers are exploring a new population in a more accessible lake within Indigenous territory. The team also plans to submit the species to the International Union for Conservation of Nature for a Critically Endangered listing.

"New species are found all the time, but few are as large, spectacular and emblematic as this one," said Kew honorary research associate Maarten Christenhusz, a co-author of the study. Because he is part of the team, his comment reflects the authors' view rather than an independent review.

Evidence check: the population estimate comes from limited surveys of a remote region, so more plants could exist in unsurveyed lagoons. The idea that the species occurs only in the Inírida wetland comes from satellite interpretation reported by the Colombian press, not a published range map. No IUCN listing has been finalized. The paper also proposes recognizing Victoria mattogrossensis as a separate species, which would bring the genus to five.

Guarding a Plant Visible From Space

The groups with the most at stake are the Indigenous communities of the Inírida area, who may gain from responsible ecotourism but also carry the burden of protecting the lagoons. Any rush of visitors drawn by viral images could trample shorelines or tempt people to take seeds. Collecting wild plants or seeds of a rare species can be illegal and harmful.

For readers, the useful role is support at a distance. Visit giant waterlilies at public gardens, support verified conservation programs, and if you travel to the region, use licensed local guides and never remove plants. Sharing wildlife photos with location data through recognized citizen-science platforms can still help scientists, as this discovery showed.

Kew horticulturist Carlos Magdalena, who first spotted the plant online, summed up the find to The Guardian in personal terms. "It was so emotional I shed a tear, it was one of those moments that will remain with me for life," he said, as quoted by PetaPixel. What happens next is the IUCN assessment and the first seed-grown plants in Bogotá. The bottom line is that a plant big enough to be seen from orbit now depends on a handful of small lakes and the people who know them best.

What Readers Want to Know

Where does Victoria colombiana grow?

In lagoons near the Inírida River in Colombia's Guainía department. Satellite images suggest it may occur only within the Estrella Fluvial de Inírida wetland.

How many plants are left?

Researchers estimate 30 to 50 wild plants, though more could exist in unsurveyed lakes.

Why was a flower sample so important?

Botanists need a flowering specimen to formally distinguish a new species from its relatives. The team found one only on the last night of its expedition.

Is Victoria colombiana officially endangered?

Not yet. The team plans to submit it to the IUCN for listing as Critically Endangered.

What is being done to protect it?

The Bogotá Botanical Garden plans to grow plants from seed, and researchers are exploring a new population in a more accessible lake within Indigenous territory.

How old is the waterlily lineage?

Waterlilies belong to one of the earliest-branching groups of flowering plants still alive, according to genome research published in Nature.