Naming water lilies

In the conservatory…

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Natalia: And speaking of water lilies.

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Katerina: Were you?

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Natalia: Yes. Yesterday. You don’t remember? That book, The Plant Messiah. The family of Nymphaea, is not large. Only about 40 species. Compare that with something like 25,000 orchid species.

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Katerina: So it’s their rarity?

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Nymphaea thermarum

Natalia: There’s something more about water lilies. Carlos, that botanist I was telling you about, seemed to think so. Dashing off all over the world in search of water lilies.

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Katerina: A water world. Lily pads and flowers floating on ponds. A floating world. Are they threatened? Or are they increasing?

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Natalia: Carlos saved Nymphaea thermarum. Its habitat had been decimated by farmers. He found a way to germinate the last 20 seeds. It’s informally called pygmy Rwandan water lily. Other enthusiasts create new species. Here, look a new one, Nymphaea ‘Lindsey Woods’.

Nymphaea 'Lindsey Woods'

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Voice-over

The water lily Nymphaea 'Lindsey Woods', commemorates a girl who died of cancer in 1999.

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