Vitória-Régia

The most famous species of the region is the vitória-régia, known as "the queen of the lakes", whose name was coined as a tribute to Queen Victoria of England. A leaf can measure up to 1.8 meters in diameter. The edges of the leaves are raised and prickly so as to prevent fish from eating them. Below, it trails down to the bottom of the water, where it is attached to a bulbous potato shaped root by a fibrous cord covered in thorns. After a time the color of the flower changes from white to pink, staying open during the day and closing at night. During the drier season the plants almost disappear, but return with the floods.