Thursday 3 July 2014

BLUE LOTUS

Nymphaea caerulea, known primarily known as blue lotus (or blue Egyptian lotus), but also blue water lily (or blue Egyptian water lily), and sacred blue lily (or sacred narcotic lily of the nile), is a water-lily in the family Nymphaeaceae.

The leaves are broadly rounded, 25–40 cm across, with a notch at the leaf stem. The flowers are 10–15 cm in diameter. The flower buds rise to the surface over a period of two to three days, and when ready, open at approximately 9:00–9:30 am and close about 3:00 pm. The flowers and buds do not rise above the water in the morning, nor do they submerge at night. The flowers have pale bluish-white to sky-blue or mauve petals, smoothly changing to a pale yellow in the centre of the flower.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

3 comments:

  1. Both Buddhists and Hindus see the lotus flower as symbolic in their religions. It is a pure and beautiful flower that grows from muddy water. Your photo captures the pure and beautiful part.

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  2. What a stunning capture Nick - this is indeed a remarkable bloom. Thank you for sharing not just the image but also the info about it.

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