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World's smallest water lily 'stolen' from Kew Gardens | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
A rare plant has allegedly been stolen from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in west London. | A rare plant has allegedly been stolen from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in west London. |
The Metropolitan Police said a Nymphaea Thermarum, the smallest water lily in the world, was taken from the Princess of Wales Conservatory last Thursday. | |
It is believed to have gone missing at some time between 08:30 and 14:55 GMT. | |
The plant, which is now extinct in the wild, would have had to have been dug or pulled up from a shallow water lily pond, the Met said. | |
'Fragile habitat' | |
Discovered in 1987 by German botanist Prof Eberhard Fischer in one location in Mashyuza, south west Rwanda, it grew around freshwater hot springs and needs warm, damp mud. | |
But the thermal water lily disappeared from the site in Africa about two years ago "due to over-exploitation of the hot spring that fed this fragile habitat", the gardens' website said. | |
Kew is one of the places where the water lilies are cultivated. | |
The rosettes are about 10-20cm wide, bearing white flowers with the leaves can be as little as 1cm in diameter. | |
Richard Barley, director of horticulture at Kew, said: "Our staff are dedicated to the conservation of plants and when incidents of this nature occur it is a blow to morale. | |
"We take theft of our invaluable scientific collection of plants very seriously." | |
Anyone with information is asked to contact Richmond upon Thames Borough police. |
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