{
  "id": 13132131,
  "title": "Instagram Photo Reveals New Species of Giant Waterlily",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/instagram-photo-reveals-new-species-of-giant-waterlily",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-09T14:09:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yale Environment 360",
    "slug": "yale-environment-360",
    "url": "https://e360.yale.edu/digest/new-giant-waterlily-instagram"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the Inírida River region of eastern Colombia, a new species of giant waterlily was recently discovered after being first spotted in an Instagram photo. The image was taken by renowned horticulturist Jeremiah Harris, who had identified the plant as Victoria amazonica. However, upon seeing the picture, waterlily researcher Carlos Magdalena of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London, suspected something was amiss, as the Victoria amazonica is not known to grow in the Inírida region where Harris captured the photograph.\n\nTo confirm his suspicions, Magdalena examined satellite photos of the river, where he found a group of giant waterlily pads that can grow up to 6 feet across. Harris later verified that the lilies in the satellite image were the same ones he had seen during his trip. Two years later, Magdalena led an expedition to the Inírida region to locate the waterlily. While their team discovered plants, none had produced flowers, which were necessary for species identification.\n\nIn a dramatic twist, their boatman, an Indigenous Tucano man, informed the team about another location where waterlilies could be found. At 1 a.m., the team followed the boatman deep into the rainforest to a small lake where they discovered five waterlilies, one of which bore a flower. The findings were published in the journal Phytotaxa, revealing the new species, dubbed Victoria colombiana. This rare species is at risk of extinction, with no more than 50 individuals remaining in the wild.",
  "summary": "Researchers have recorded a new species of giant waterlily after first spotting the plant in an Instagram photo. Read more on E360 →",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}