Behold the Florida water lily that can hold almost 200 pounds
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Bok Tower Gardens horticulture manager Taylor Walker cheers during the 2025 Waterlily Weigh-Off. Photo: Courtesy of Bok Tower Gardens
The waterlily: massive. The stakes: high. The man for the job: Taylor Walker, horticulture manager at Bok Tower Gardens.
- On a sunny day in mid-August, Walker waded into a pond at the Lake Wales botanical garden and, with water up to his chest, began stacking weight on top of a Victoria cruziana lily pad spanning 5 feet.
Why it matters: The water lily was able to support a whopping 183 pounds — and clinch victory in Denver Botanic Gardens' third-annual Waterlily Weigh-Off.
How it works: Over a week in August, 48 competitors in nine countries posted videos on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook placing various weighted objects on top of their giant lily pads. In Bok Tower's case, that amounted to:
- 10 eight-pound bags of oranges
- seven five-pound chunks of granite
- four 12-pound sandbags
- and one 20-pound circular foundation to help distribute the weight.
The big picture: The competition's wide social media following drew heavy hitters like the Chicago Botanic Garden (a measly 25 pounds) and Miami's Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (30 pounds, pshhh).
Yes, but: It was Polk County's pride and joy that squeezed out the win, defeating last year's champion, the Missouri Botanical Garden, by just one pound.
What they're saying: "Yeah, we were pretty happy to win," said the now-TikTok famous Walker, with several commenters noting that, unlike his competitors in waders, Walker hopped in the water in shorts and a sun shirt, no-nonsense Florida Man-style.
- "I don't mind going into the water," Walker told Axios. "A lot of people don't like it. I think it's kind of fun."
Zoom in: So how is a plant able to hold what equates to an average American adult? It comes down to physics, Walker said.
- The pads are so large that they can better distribute weight, and they have high rims that keep the water off.
- The veins beneath the pad also create air pockets that help it stay buoyant. And the stems are covered in thorn-like spines that keep other plants from encroaching.
Zoom out: Those spines are also how Walker got a little scratched up carrying out the victory, he said. But it was worth it.
The bottom line: "The wounds I've suffered today are temporary," Walker said in the video.
- "Our victory will be eternal."