In London, The Case Of The Purloined Water Lily
An exceptionally rare flower that is virtually extinct has been stolen from London's Kew Gardens, in a crime that experts say could be the work of an obsessed collector. British newspapers say that stealing the precious Nymphaea thermarum water lily "is like an old master theft."
The plant is not currently known to exist in the wild. Britain's Metropolitan Police are investigating the theft, which is believed to have taken place on Jan. 9. The water lily was taken from a small pond in a glass house at the gardens.
From London, NPR's Ari Shapiro filed this report for our Newscast unit:
"The flower is no larger than a nickel. Botanists discovered it in Rwanda in 1987, growing in a natural spring. The spring dried up from overuse, and the lily disappeared.
"But in Britain's Kew Gardens just a few years ago, a botanist discovered how to propagate the flower. It needs precise temperatures and specific amounts of carbon dioxide and oxygen.
"Now, one of the lilies has been stolen from the gardens.
"Officials at the Royal Botanic Gardens say it's impossible to put a price on the flower. They suspect the culprit could be a collector eager to own one of the rarest plants in the world."