Sri Lanka officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in the northern Indian Ocean off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest.
Indian wrestlers Rashid Anwar (left) and Ajaib Singh in a training bout at Lane's Club in Baker Street London before the Empire Games, 19th July 1934. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Indian devotees carry their luggage and wade through the flooded water in Varanasi, India, Friday, August 26, 2016. (Photo by Tsering Topgyal/AP Photo)
Dinara Safina of Russia hits a backhand in her match against Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain during the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 10, 2011 in Indian Wells, California.
Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark serves to Alisa Kleybanova of Russia during the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 15, 2011 in Indian Wells, California. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
The species has very large leaves, up to 3 m in diameter, that float on the water's surface on a submerged stalk, 7–8 m in length. The species was once called Victoria regia after Queen Victoria, but the name was superseded. V. amazonica is native to the shallow waters of the Amazon River basin, such as oxbow lakes and bayous. It is depicted in the Guyanese coat of arms. The flowers are white the first night they are open and become pink the second night. They are up to 40 cm in diameter, and are pollinated by beetles.