Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The Ancient Egyptians used the water lilies of the Nile as cultural symbols. [67] Since 1580 it has become popular in the English language to apply the Latin word lotus, originally used to designate a tree, to the water lilies growing in Egypt, and much later the word was used to translate words in Indian texts. [68]
Nefertem represented both the first sunlight and the delightful smell of the Egyptian blue lotus flower, having arisen from the primal waters within an Egyptian blue water-lily, Nymphaea caerulea. Some of the titles of Nefertem were "He Who is Beautiful" and "Water-Lily of the Sun", and a version of the Book of the Dead says:
Nymphaea nouchali, often known by its synonym Nymphaea stellata, or by common names blue lotus, [3] star lotus, red water lily, dwarf aquarium lily, blue water lily, blue star water lily or manel flower, is a water lily of genus Nymphaea. It is native to southern and eastern parts of Asia, and is the national flower of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. – sacred or Indian lotus, also known as the Rose of India and the sacred water lily of Hinduism and Buddhism. [20] It is the national flower of India and Vietnam . Its roots and seeds are also used widely in cooking in East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia.
In addition, these meanings are alluded to in older pictures, songs and writings. New symbols have also arisen: one of the most known in the United Kingdom is the red poppy as a symbol of remembrance of the fallen in war.
The Nymphaeales are an order of flowering plants, consisting of three families of aquatic plants, the Hydatellaceae, the Cabombaceae, and the Nymphaeaceae (water lilies). It is one of the three orders of basal angiosperms, an early-diverging grade of flowering plants. At least 10 morphological characters unite the Nymphaeales. [3]
The lotus is often confused with the true water lilies of the genus Nymphaea, in particular N. caerulea, the "blue lotus." In fact, several older systems, such as the Bentham & Hooker system (which is widely used in the Indian subcontinent), refer to the lotus by its old synonym, Nymphaea nelumbo. [citation needed]
Aristocrats and religious figures wore masks and/or headdresses during celebratory events that had water lilies and/or water lily symbols to appear like gods. [35] There is also evidence that water lilies were used as cultural entheogenic. Some interpretations of ritual scenes drawn out by the Maya have been blood being extracted from ...