A giant water lily has bloomed at Lok Seva Bhawan, Odisha’s secretariat in Bhubaneswar, after an initiative to cultivate, conserve and study the Amazonian aquatic plant was undertaken by the state administration’s arboriculture wing. The public will be able to view the plant when the secretariat garden opens on Republic Day.
The plant, Victoria amazonica, has produced enormous floating leaves and a fragrant flower at a newly developed water body on the Lok Seva Bhawan premises. The species is native to the Amazon basin of South America and is known for leaves that can grow up to three metres in diameter.
Jayant Kumar Jena, superintendent of the Capital Nursery under the general administration department’s arboriculture wing, led the cultivation effort. He said the project began after he met botanist R Saravanan, associated with the Botanical Survey of India, at the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden in Howrah.
Jena said the department first procured a tuber and experimented with growing the plant at the Capital Nursery in Bhubaneswar’s Unit-II area. The initial success encouraged the team to develop a larger water body at Lok Seva Bhawan for cultivation, breeding and research.
Four tubers, including male and female plants, were planted at the site in July 2026. According to Jena, three survived and grew successfully. The first fragrant flower was seen blooming last week, marking a milestone for the project.
The giant water lily’s flower has a short but distinctive cycle. It opens as a fragrant white bloom on the first night and attracts nocturnal beetles that assist in pollination. On the second night, the flower turns pink or purplish before eventually sinking beneath the water. The plant’s leaves have upturned edges and strong, air-filled ribs underneath, while its stalks and undersides are covered with sharp spines that protect it from aquatic herbivores.
Anjan Kumar Das, additional director of estate in the general administration department, said the initiative would showcase aquatic plant diversity and create opportunities to study the species’ growth and propagation under Odisha’s climatic conditions. The water body also adds a distinctive botanical feature to the administrative complex.
The project has already drawn interest from students. A group of forestry students from Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology visited the Capital Nursery to learn about the cultivation process. Subhashree Priyadarshini, a first-year forestry student, said she had studied the giant water lily but had not previously seen it in person.
Pass holders, staff and employees can view the plant at Lok Seva Bhawan, while members of the general public will be allowed to see it when the garden opens on Republic Day. The administration’s stated next steps are to continue cultivation, breeding and research around the species at the secretariat site.
