The Hughes Water Garden nursery in Tualatin, Oregon specializes in water plants. They propagate from seed a rare variety of lily from the Amazon called Victorian lilies. These are unusual in that they open at night and close during the day, the blossoms lasting for only about 3 days and going from a white to a fuchsia color. The pads are enormous - up to 3 feet in diameter and spiked on the bottom to discourage underwater predators from eating them. The surface area and durability of the pad is such that it can support up to 20 pounds. There are pictures of babies sitting afloat on these pads (do not try this at home!). This particular image shows a new pad breaking the surface and beginning to unfurl.