The Lotus

Lotus flower or in Latin called Nymphaea is the name of a type of aquatic plant from the group Nymphaeaceae. In English it is known as water-lily or waterlily. In Indonesia, lotus is also used to refer to plants of the type Nelumbo or (lotus). In a history book when in ancient times, people often confused the genus Nelumbo like a lotus with the genus Nymphaea (lotus). In Nelumbo, flowers are above the surface of the water (not floating), kelopak meets red (white lotus to yellow), the leaves are round and rhizome is usually consumed by certain people but the real purpose is unknown.  While the characteristics of this flower are very easy to recognize such as plants growing on the surface of calm water. Flowers and leaves are on the surface of the water, coming out of stems from rhizomes that are in the mud at the bottom of ponds, rivers or swamps. The handle is in the middle of the leaf as you see in the picture in this post.  Then another characteristic is a round leaf or a wide oval shape cut off on the fingers leading to the stem. The surface of the leaf does not contain a layer of wax so that water that falls onto the surface of the leaf does not form water droplets. The waxy leaves on the surface cannot wet the round leaves.  Then the flower is on the stalk which is an extension of the rhizome, measuring the diameter of the flower between 5-10 cm. The terraces consist of about 50 species spread from the tropics to the subtropical regions of the whole world. While in Indonesia there are many lotus flowers found in lakes or in ponds abandoned by their owners. But many advantages with the presence of this one flower, one of which is to be able to filter and make the water clear.