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Just wanted to give you a reason to smile today!
Natural Facts about the Lotus & the Water Lily
Although there is a botanical distinction, the lotus and water lily are often used interchangeably in folklore and mythology. Generally lotus refers to the water lily of India or the plant depicted in sacred art and stories, while the water lily is more often used by naturalists. As an example of the confusion, the World Book actually has two entries, one for the lotus, one for the water lily, both clearly referring to the same plant and neither referring to the other entry.
The lotus of India belongs to the Nelumbo genus (Nelumbo is the Sinhalese name for the plant). It has large flowers and leaves that sometimes grow up above the water. The plant's thorny stalk discourages fish from nibbling on it. The upper cupule or fleshy capsule of the lotus dries out at maturity and separates from the plant. Floating about, it scatters seed from the many perforated holes in its surface.
In Asia, there is only one species of lotus with red and white blooms. Yet early Buddhist scriptures, referring to the seven precious lotuses, mention blue and yellow flowers. The water lily, native to Egypt, has blue flowers but the yellow-flowered water lily is native to North America. This mystery may be addressed in this Buddhist sutra:
"The lotuses of heaven can change according to people's wishes, flowering when needed. In this way they bring joy to the hearts of all. There is no need to declare one false and the other real. Both are called the wondrous lotus flower."
The water lily belongs to the Nympha genus, derived from the same word as Nymph. The Greek word nymph, besides being used to describe the feminine spirits of water and trees, also means something young and budding (like the larva of certain insects) and is the name for the labia minora. In Europe, the common white water lily, the one painted by Monet, is nympha alba while in North America, we're more familiar with nuphar lutea, the yellow water lilies, also called spatterdocks or cow lilies. The English sometimes call the plant "brandy bottle" because the flowers smell like stale wine which attracts flies, the pollinators for the plant.
According to Chelsie Vandaveer, the Amazon Water Lily (victoria amazonica) imprisons its pollinators. The pure white flowers open in the evening and release a fragrance like pineapples. Beetles attracted by the smell find their way to the pale flowers on the dark water and feast on the central petals, while the flower closes over them. Then the anthers ripen and shed their pollen all over the trapped beetles. By the second evening, the flowers have turned pink and lost their fragrance. They open again and release the pollen-covered beetles which fly off in search of more white flowers with that incredible fragrance. Thus the lily is never self-pollinated since it can only be pollinated when the flower is white and fragrant. I love this description of the flower that changes colors and fragrances overnight, all in the service of sex. No wonder it's considered a magical plant.
I took this picture yesterday evening!
Just thought you might like to get a flower today! If that made you smile, my mission was accomplished!
Ps. A sweet young thing like you deserves lots of pretty floers!
Every flower has a history and every flower symbolizes something. Often the history and symbols are confusing and contradictory but they are still fascinating. If your birthday is in the month of June, your flower is the rose. Here is the story and language of your flower.
The Linguistic Roots for the Name Rose
The Latin name for the rose, rosa, literally means red. Diana Wells suggests that saying that rose means red is like saying the heart is a muscle situated on the left side of the rib cage, it is an incomplete understanding of what the blossom symbolizes.
History of the Flower
Quite possibly the most popular flower in the history of the world, the rose has a multitude of legends and myths surrounding it. A flower of such prominence must be related to the gods of our world or at least one would think so when considering the wealth of otherworldly associations attached to the blossom. Was the smile of Amor the source of our first rose or did it fall from the hair of the goddess of dawn, Aurora?
The sweet scent and frowsy beauty of the blossom resulted in it being popular among the rulers of this world. The infamous Cleopatra had her pillows filled with rose petals. Romans used petals to decorate their feasts and even had canopies filled to shower petals upon the guests. Sometimes the Romans love of roses became too much and the shower of petals would actually smother guests.
The Symbolism of Roses
Jewish legends attributed the color of the rose to the first blood that darkened the earths soil. The Teutons believed the rose was a symbol of the underworld and called their battlefields rose gardens.
Just wanted to give you a reason to smile today!