Instagram post sparks new giant waterlily find
How a plant selfie in Colombian jungle led to ‘jaw dropping’ giant waterlily find
Saturday, 10 October 2026
Photo by EcoNaturalist.com on Unsplash
Warm-up
- Have you ever learned something from a social media post?
- What is the most surprising plant or animal you know? Why?
- How can photos help scientists make discoveries?
Vocabulary
- species
- a group of similar living things that can reproduce together
- expedition
- a planned journey to explore or research a place
- satellite
- a machine in space that takes images or sends signals to Earth
- permit
- an official document that gives permission to do something
- indigenous
- belonging to the original people of a place
- endangered
- at serious risk of disappearing forever
- visible
- able to be seen
- estimate
- to judge a number based on available information
Reading
Listen to this story
British EnglishA chance Instagram post led to the discovery of a new giant waterlily in Colombia. Carlos Magdalena, a specialist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, saw Jeremiah Harris's photo from the Inírida River in Guainía and noticed something unusual. Harris had tagged the plant as Victoria amazonica, but that species is not native there.
After securing funds, permits and partners from the Jardín Botánico in Bogotá and local indigenous reserves, Magdalena led a five-day expedition. With only hours before their flight, the team sailed overnight through the flooded forest and found the plants on a small lake. A paper in Phytotaxa confirmed a new species, Victoria colombiana.
Its leaves can reach three metres and are visible in satellite images. Researchers estimate only 30 to 50 remain in the wild, so the species is critically endangered. Scientists used to think there were only three giant waterlily species; now there is one more.
Comprehension
- Who posted the photo that started the discovery?
- Which expert recognised the plant might be unusual?
- Where in Colombia were the plants finally found?
- What confirmed the plant as a new species?
- How many plants are estimated to remain in the wild?
Grammar focus
Used to / would
Use used to / would for past habits: used to + base verb or would + base verb. For past states (be, know, have), use used to, not would. (Example 2 constructed.)
- Scientists used to think there were only three giant waterlily species.
- As a trainee at Kew, a botanist would check leaves daily.
Grammar exercise
Complete each sentence with used to or would + the verb.
- Field notes (list) ___ only three species then.
- Local guides (see) ___ lilies there each season before.
- Researchers (sail) ___ at night on earlier trips.
- Satellite maps (be) ___ unclear to non-specialists then.
- People (tag) ___ the lily as V. amazonica before.
Discussion
- Should social media play a bigger role in research? Why or why not?
- How should Colombia protect this endangered species?
- What risks do expeditions in remote places face?
- What would make a discovery feel jaw dropping to you?
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