The Providence Athenaeum presents Ex Libris, a series of programs featuring authors and scholars, early evening on Wednesdays. This week, cultural historian and literary scholar Tatiana Holway will be discussing the Amazon River’s largest waterlily, Victoria regia.
In the pantheon of Victorian flora, one plant is by any measure a standout. With flat, round, leaves rimmed in crimson, growing six, seven, even eight or more feet in diameter, and basket-sized blooms in shades ranging from white to pink to deep rose, this native of the Amazon is the largest waterlily in the world and among the world’s largest flowering plants.
Coming up:
June 3 — Ted Widmer discusses his new book Lincoln on the Verge.
June 10 — The Witching Hour
June 17 — Thoreau’s Library Alcoves
June 24 — Bibliomania with special collections librarian Stephanie Ovoian.
Ex Libris, 5:30pm to 6:15pm, Wednesdays