47.3

The symbolism of . purity and grace . . . . . Chinese literati believe that a lotus is a pure world unto itself in which both body and soul are clean. According to the book Jian Nan Shi Gao, when the Song dynasty poet Lu Yu was 78 years old, he once dreamt that an ancient spoke to him: "I am the lotus scholar and responsible for the mirror lake," he said. "But now I am leaving, and I was wondering if you could take my place minding the moonlight, wind and dew and protecting the lotuses - Song Dynasty Poet Lu Yu

The Lotus Flower is one of the most ancient and deeply spiritual symbols of a universal culture.
Lotuses are 5 species of water lilies, three in the genus Nymphaea and two in Nelumbo; both genera are members of the water-lily family. Nymphaea lotus, the Egyptian white lotus, is believed to be the original sacred lotus of ancient Egypt. It and the Egyptian blue lotus, N. caerulea, (could this be the word source for cerulean blue colour) were often pictured in ancient Egyptian art.

The common Egyptian Lotus is actually correctly called a water lily: the white lotus opens at dusk in the evening, the blue water lily opens in the morning.

Panama Pacific Waterlily Puohokamoa Valley Maui Hawaii
Nymphaea Stellata
From my collection: Tropical Flowers of Hawaii
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