The Lotus And The Nile :: Botany

The genus Lotus And The NileThe blue white lotus (genus genus Nymphaea caerulea) belongs to the Nymphaeaceae (Water-Lily) family. The blue lotus has several commons names including Egyptian lotus, blue water lily, and sacred lily of the Nile. It should not be confused with the blue lily or Agapanthus africanus, a plant of an on the whole different genus (Anonymous, 1999). Be c beful also not to confuse it with the Nymphaea lotus, which is the white lotus. Fossils of this plant have been dated back to the Jurassic period, about 160 million long time ago. Amazingly, the fossils suggest that the blue lotus has not changed much. Other records indicate wide dispersal of this flower onward the Ice Age (Edwards, 1998). It is important to first explain a a few(prenominal) things about the nature of the blue lotus. The blue lotus or water-lily, is a floating aquatic plant that is known for its colorful and aromatic flowers. The leaves are waxy, leathery and dark green with a reddish-pur ple color underneath (Edwards, 1998). The genus Nymphaea includes both tropical and hardy (cold-tolerant) species. There are also night-bloomers and day-bloomers. The tropical day- bloomers are the lotus that was used by the Egyptians (Edwards, 1998). The flowers of many species of lotus have the shocking habit of folding their petals and sinking beneath the waters come out during the night and resurfacing the next day to bloom again (Philbrick and Les, 1996). Many quaint cultures found the blue lotus to be of great use and of esteem status. In Asia and Africa, the blue lotus symbolic modelized immortality in recognition of the plants ability to break and resprout after long droughts, and the seeds ability to remain viable for many years (Edwards, 1998). In China it was regarded as a religious symbol, and a symbol of feminine beauty. Similarly in India, it was compared with the bombilatean female form, and in their legends they deliberate that Brahma, their creator of the uni verse, sprang from a lotus-like blossom (Edwards, 1998). The Japanese saw a representation of purity and the juxtaposition of good and evil, and the Buddhists have a prayer mentioning the lotus, Omi Mani padme hum which is interpreted as, Oh, the jewel in the lotus flower (Edwards, 1998). The Greeks also esteem the blue lotus. They associated the flowers with the mythical nymphs and beautiful maidens thought to inhabit the forests and mountains (Edwards, 1998). The people of ancient Egypt (Kemet), used the blue lotus extensively in their art and in their everyday uses.