Friday Fabulous Flower - Lotus

Not everything suffers from the heat; some plants like it especially when they have their roots firmly planted in a aquatic habitat.  The Phactor also knows he's done lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) before for a previous FFF post and another just musing (here and here), but they're such a wonderful flower and they photograph so nicely.  The lotus used to own the entire pond, but in these economic times it's had to downsize to a 60 gallon pot, and we will endeavor to keep it so confined.  As you can see the renovated pond is looking pretty good. 

Friday Fabulous Flower - Sacred Lotus

A few months ago, the Phactor endeavored to straighten out the confusion between waterlilies and lotus. They do have a number of superficial similarities, but they are not closely related (note the smaller waterlily leaves to lower left). A sacred lotus is the primary,that is biggest, resident of our garden pond, which was originally constructed almost 100 years ago. Amazingly enough it survives our winter cold because the pond is deep enough that it does not freeze to the bottom, and lotus thrives in our summer tropical weather flowering freely until nights begin to get cold.
The sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is so called because of its role in Hindu mythology. Lord Brahma emerged from the navel of Lord Vishnu while he was sitting on a lotus. The lotus flower is a symbol of eternity and good fortune, and Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth is usually shown associated with a lotus flower.
The lotus is a lovely big flower, quite elegant, and the most pleasing pink color. My daughter has always thought the way water beads up and rolls around on the waxy surface of the large peltate leaf was most amusing. Enjoy.

More botanical confusion - Lotus

Undaunted by having lost this post to an electrical failure earlier, the Phactor will endeavor to X-plain another confusing botanical subject - the lotus. Lotus, as a flower of myth and legend, is tied to so many stories in so many traditions, naturally things are going to get mixed up a bit. Leaving the automobile out of it, what plants are actually called lotus?

The Blue Nile lotus is actually a waterlily (Nymphaea) as illustrated in the wonderful old botanical painting. And when Homer wrote of "land of the lotus eaters" this was the plant he was most likely to have been thinking of.

The sacred lotus of India and SE Asia is Nelumbo nucifera, which is not a waterlily at all, however its similarity to waterlilies caused it to be misidentified as one for a long time. And both can be easily mistaken for one another in artistic and figurative representations. These medallions are ceiling paintings from a temple in southern India. The one on the left could be the golden lotus (below) and the one on the right either a waterlily or a sacred lotus.

As if that wasn't enough, the golden lotus, a much revered plant itself, is actually a many bracted, many flowered infloresence in the banana family (Musella lasiocarpa). And this sort explains these cases of mistaken identity. The flowers of waterlily and the sacred lotus are both pretty large and have lots of overlapping petals. And in first appearances, the golden lotus looks likewise, although it isn't just one flower at all.

And to further add to the confusion the genus Lotus (called bird's foot lotus) belongs in the bean family, and why this bean came to share this name is unknown to me.