The case in summary • Victoria Cruziana is a rare flower found in the Musèhagen in Bergen, and blooms only twice a night before resting for a year.• The flower is bisexual, which means it can pollinate itself, and changes color from white to pink from the first to the second night.• Interest in the flower has previously been so great that people have broken into the garden to catch the bloom.• This year, the University of Bergen will for the first time have a garden open at night in connection with the flowering, and the flowering will also be streamed minute by minute in collaboration with news.• Victoria Cruziana is demanding to grow as it needs a high and even temperature in both the water and the air, lots of fertiliser, and lots of light.• Although the flower can pollinate itself itself, it has not managed to do this in Bergen, therefore the plant is sown again every year. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Victoria Cruziana blooms only twice, at night, before resting for a year. The botanical garden in central Bergen is one of two places in Norway where you can see this rare bloom. The other is the Botanical Garden in Oslo. Now you have the opportunity to follow the rare event minute by minute. The leaves can be over 1.5 m in diameter at their largest and the flowers have a diameter of over 25 cm. The buds on the flower only open for two consecutive nights. Our online broadcast from the Muséhagen starts on Monday at 16.45. In the coming night, you will probably see both – one bud will bloom for the first time, while another bud has a false start and will bloom for the second time. A small piece of the Amazon appears in the Musè garden every late summer The Victoria water lily usually grows in the Amazon, in shallow water in quiet backwaters where it receives a steady supply of nutrient-rich river mud. In Bergen, it thrives in a heated pond in the middle of Nygårdshøyden. Photo: Siri Skretting Jansen / UiB Intrusion of curiosity The Victoria flower is, like many other flowers, bisexual. That means it can pollinate itself. It produces perfect seeds, which can germinate and become new plants. As if this isn’t rare enough, the first night the flower is white, the following night it’s pink – and then it’s over. There will be two unpredictable night blooms. Interest has previously been so great that people have broken into the garden to take it with them. – It is unique that you can come and see the Victoria plant here in Bergen. Many people are curious about the plant and its flowering. We have experienced people sneaking into the garden at night to catch the event, says Hilde Selstø, operations manager at the Musèhagen, which is one of the university gardens at the University of Bergen. In recent years, the Victoria plant in the Musèhagen has had 10–15 buds, and it has happened that some of the buds have flowered on the same night. Then Hilde has put on her waders at night to try to help the plant with pollination. She gives Victoria a lot of care with nutrition and cutting leaves for optimal growing conditions. Photo: Solfrid Langeland / UiB Selstø has seen the plant in flower every summer, but never followed when it opens minute by minute. Open at night The garden is closed in the evening/nighttime, and this year, UiB will for the first time have a garden open at night in connection with the flowering of Victoria. – Many people think it’s a shame that the garden is closed at night. We are happy that spectators will finally be able to catch this event “live”, and hope many will take advantage of the opportunity, she says. This year, the mouse garden in collaboration with news will also stream the flowering minute by minute. If you are not present in the garden at the first flowering, there are several possibilities. Already the victoria plant has fooled us – the first bloom on the first bud came before the camera was in place, so if you see this on Monday it will be the second, and pink bloom you’ll see. Flowering of the Victoria water lily Victoria’s flowering fascinates both the public and scientists. The flower is open for two consecutive nights, but remains closed during the day between the two nights. The first night it is chalk white. The second night it changes color. It starts as pink in the middle, and over the course of the night this pink color spreads to the petals. This two-stage flowering caused a lot of trouble when the plant first began to be studied. Why exactly two nights? Why not just one, or three? Why does it close during the day? You only got the explanation when you studied the plant in its natural habitat. Flowers are genitals, and flowering means sex. The Victoria flower is, like many other flowers, bisexual. That means it can pollinate itself. It produces perfect seeds, which can germinate and become new plants. Source: University of Oslo. Read all about the flowering here. At the same time, there is another bud that is on the way, and we are following it closely. There you will see the entire process. Demanding flower The water lily can be demanding to grow as it needs a high and even temperature in both the water and the air, lots of fertiliser, and lots of light. High humidity is not difficult in Bergen, but to maintain the temperature a greenhouse is needed. In 2018, the dam was refurbished and a glass house was set up over what is popularly called Lake Victoria. The plant lies nicely and bobs in 28 degree warm water and tropical climate inside the Victoria house. The climax is reached in late summer when the buds finally bloom. This usually happens at the end of August or in September, but you never know when it will happen. New leaves with a spiked underside keep pests away from the plant. Photo: SIRI SKRETTING JANSEN / UIB Changes sex at night The flower is bisexual and is white the first night before it changes to pink male sex the second night. In the morning, the flower stalk becomes soft, and the flower is pulled down under the water. Already the next day the petals have rotted away. The pollination of the plant in nature takes place with nocturnal hornet beetles, but so far the plant has not been able to pollinate itself and the plant is re-sown every year in the garden. Currently not in flower – and after a short time: gone Photo: SIRI SKRETTING JANSEN / UIB – The plant is also designed so that it can pollinate itself, but plants will also try to avoid inbreeding. Flowering nights make cross-pollination more likely, says Moen Selstø. If the flower was unlucky not to be visited by horned beetles on the first night, it can now play its last trump card on the second night by pollinating itself. – So far we have only managed to get our own seeds to develop once, otherwise I have re-sown the plant every year, but we live in hope, says Selstø. Victoria is unpredictable, but Hilde has learned to look for the signs that something is afoot. – When the stem also rises, it is very close to flowering, and it is very exciting to watch, she says. Published 19.08.2024, at 14.43 Updated 19.08.2024, at 18.31
ttn-69
This water lily only blooms for two nights – news Vestland
