Botanical garden conserves rare lily variety ‘Victoria’

NOIDA: The botanical gardens of Noida may soon see a rare species of lily blooming in its ponds - the Victoria lily, an aquatic flower which has the broadest leaves among water flowers. The species has been conserved in the pond for the last three years and is only beginning to thrive. The lily pond at the botanical garden also is also conserving the national lotus variety, ‘kamal’ and other varieties of lilies.
“It has been three and half years that we have created this pond artificially. The aim of the botanical garden is to preserve and conserve all rare flower varieties. We have been successfully growing various kinds of water lilies in this pond. We are happy to announce among nature and botany enthusiasts that we may soon be able to see Victoria lilies thrive here,” Sheo Kumar, scientist and conservator at the botanical garden said.
The country’s only designated plant species conservation garden, the botanical garden at Noida, falls under the aegis of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. It hosts a range of medicinal and rare plants. The garden has been offering awareness and educational camps for visitors. “We are now working on a series of awareness camps for students and nature enthusiasts. Workshops, lectures, interactions are being hosted regularly. We need to connect people with their environments. There is no lack of awareness, but people need to get down to apply such awareness in their immediate habitats,” Kumar said.
The garden is now being developed as a center for interaction and engagement for educationists, students and citizens of Noida and beyond to engage, learn and develop intelligence about nature, the value of plants, their medical importance and more. “All plants are valuable; all medicines are derived from plants. We must encourage our children to learn more about them we must pass on more information to our next generations so they can conserve and preserve our natural heritage. India has a plethora of unique herbs and plants. We are conserving those species here at the garden,” Kumar added. The garden is all set to host a series of contests workshops and courses in November to mark occasions like work Science Day and Children’s Day.