Victoria (plant)
Victoria is a genus of water-lilies, in the plant family Nymphaeaceae, with very large green leaves that lie flat on the water's surface. "Victoria amazonica" has a leaf that is up to in diameter, on a stalk up to in length. The genus name was given in honour of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. It pushes other water plants aside as it spreads out until only those of its kind remains. When this happens it has completely cut out the sunlight from getting to any plants below the water. Extant species. The first published description  of the genus was by John Lindley in 1837, based on specimens returned from British Guiana by Robert Schomburgk. Lindley named the genus after the new Queen, Victoria, and the species "Victoria regia". An earlier account of the species, "Euryale amazonica" Poeppig, in 1832 described an affinity with "Euryale ferox". A collection and description was also made by the French botanist Aimé Bonpland in 1825. The leaf of "Victoria" is able to support quite a large weight due to the plant's structure, although the leaf itself is quite delicate: so much so that "a straw held 6 inches above  and dropped perpendicularly upon it would readily pass through it". To counter the fragile nature of the leaf, the weight needs to be distributed across the surface through mechanical means, such as a sheet of plywood. This allows the leaf to support up to .