Home » Plants & Animals » Historical Plants » Languorous Water Lilies

Languorous Water Lilies

© Audrey Stallsmith

The lotus; of which fruit what man soe'er
Once tasted, no desire felt he to come
With tidings back, or seek his country more,
But rather wish'd to feed on lotus still
The Odyssey of Homer-William Cowper

"From the pool," Louise Beebe Wilder writes in The Fragrant Path, "water lilies seem to be the very breath of summer." Those floating flowers, which frequently close in the afternoon, have long been associated with the sweet languor that tempts a person to dream away a lazy summer day. But Homer's Odyssey and a later poem by Tennyson portray some lotus-eaters, supposedly occupying the North African island of Jerba near Tunis, who wanted to dream away their entire lives!

It seems likely, though, that the Tunisian "lotus" was not the aquatic plant but jujube, zizyphus jujuba, which was also known as lotus tree. Although some ancient peoples did make bread from water lily seeds, jujube produces fruits-called Chinese dates--that would be much easier to eat! And its seeds are narcotic, which might explain the lotus-eaters lethargy.

On the other hand, the Egyptian blue lotus, nymphaea caerulea (AKA nymphaea stellata or nouchallii), can reportedly be narcotic too-when soaked in wine. The ancient Egyptians seem to have combined the flower with opium poppy and mandrake to induce visions. And an extract of Persian lotus, nelumbo nucifera, may have substituted for opium in some World War I operating rooms.

Since the Egyptian blue lotus belongs to the nymphaea rather than the nelumbo family, it technically isn't a lotus at all, but a water lily. Water lilies sport pointy petals, while the petals on lotuses round themselves off.

The "nymph" in the former's name probably refers to Lotis, the mythological daughter of the water god, Neptune. Legend holds that she turned into a water lily while fleeing from Priapus, the ugly but ever lascivious god of fertility. (Unless, of course, it was the lotus tree into which she metamorphosed. But, considering her paternity, the water lily sounds more appropriate!)

The blue "lotus" was so respected that it came to symbolize lower Egypt. (Papyrus represented the upper part of the nation.) When ancient Egyptian VIP's died, their bodies were frequently laid out with an intricate covering of nymphaea caerulea petals.

The true lotus or nelumbo was also revered by ancient cultures like China and India, perhaps because, as Wilder writes, it "has its roots in the mud but its fragrance reaches the throne of God." Buddha supposedly landed on a lotus after his creation and sleeps on one half the year. According to Mohammed, founder of Islam, the flower also grows in seventh heaven

The copyright of the article Languorous Water Lilies in Historical Plants is owned by . Permission to republish Languorous Water Lilies in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.