Kew Gardens waterlily leaf supports 102kg in annual weigh-off

Kew Gardens participated in the annual Waterlily Weigh-Off, an international competition organized by the Denver Botanic Gardens. This year, a single leaf of the Victoria boliviana waterlily at Kew’s Princess of Wales Conservatory successfully supported 102kg (224.87lbs) before buckling. This performance exceeded Kew’s previous record of 76.5kg set in 2025.

The Victoria boliviana is recognized as the world’s largest waterlily species, holding Guinness World Records for the largest species, largest leaf, and largest undivided leaf. Although specimens had been in botanical collections for over 180 years, the species was only identified as new to science in 2022, having previously been misidentified as Victoria amazonica.

The plant’s buoyancy is attributed to large air-filled channels in its leaf veins. The species is part of a collection at Kew that also includes the Santa Cruz waterlily and Euryale ferox.