Birth flower for July 31
Giant water lily
Meaning: shelter and strength
The giant water lily's scientific name, Victoria, honors Queen Victoria, and its first bloom in an English greenhouse in 1849 caused a sensation. Its round leaves can grow over two meters across, and a web of thick ribs underneath spreads weight so well that a small child can sit on one. Each flower opens at dusk, white and fragrant to lure beetles, and returns the next night blushing pink.