The Chinese are convinced: this flower grows not only on earth, but also in heaven, in paradise. The lotuses that adorn the heavenly lakes are actually the souls of people. Plants in which righteous souls have incarnated always bloom and smell fragrant, but lotuses in which sinners find themselves wither quickly: the climate of paradise is categorically unsuitable for them.
This flower is admired, admired, and worshiped: after all, the lotus is a symbol of the gods. In different religions it has its own meaning and means life, rebirth, purity, oblivion, peace, fertility, and some peoples consider it as the interaction of the male and female principles.
In reality, this incredibly beautiful flower is perennial plant, belongs to the genus Dicotyledons, is the only representative of the lotus family and comes in yellow or Pink colour(It is interesting that white, red and blue water lilies are also sometimes classified as lotuses).
These are growing amazing plants only in water - in river deltas, in muddy channels, creeks, sometimes they can be seen high in the mountains (for example, in India this flower feels excellent at an altitude of one and a half kilometers).
Lotuses are heat-loving, demanding plants and do not grow everywhere (which is why they are included in the Red Book): yellow prefers water bodies in South and Central America, Jamaica, Hawaii, while pink can often be seen in Asia, Japan, India, got to Australia. It also blooms in Russia - in the Volga delta, in the Far East, in Kuban, where on the Taman Peninsula there is an incredibly beautiful water garden: the amazing Lotus Valley.
A blooming lotus looks like this:
- Among the bright green leaves floating on the surface of the water there is a large flower, about 30 cm in diameter, always turned towards the sun. The smell of lotus flowers is not strong, but extremely pleasant;
- The plant has a yellow corolla surrounded by several rows of delicate pink or yellow shades. The tone of the petal near the base is much richer than at the edge;
- The rhizome of the plant is thick, long (in some species the length can exceed 350 km) - the flower needs such dimensions in order to be able to reach the bottom and extract nutrients from the soil;
- The petals and leaves of the lotus are covered with a waxy coating, so under the sun's rays they glow and shimmer like mother-of-pearl, while water does not linger on them and rolls off like mercury; Above-water lotus leaves, about 70 cm long, rise several centimeters above those in the water; lotus leaves immersed in water have a scale-like shape;
- The seeds of the plant look like dark-colored nuts: they have a woody skin with a small hole for the embryo. Interesting fact: Once upon a time, seeds were discovered in the peat bogs of China that were over a thousand years old. After they were planted, the flower sprouted and blossomed.
Representatives of the lotus family
Despite the fact that the blooming lotus comes in different colors, there are only two species of representatives of the lotus family.
Nut lotus
The significance of the pink lotus is great because it means Buddha: when he was born, an incredibly beautiful rain of petals from this beautiful plant fell on the earth. Subsequently, absolutely all significant events that took place in his life were marked by the appearance of heavenly petals. For Hindus, a pink lotus signifies a person's attempt to approach nirvana (Buddha was the first mortal to achieve this state).
Despite the fact that the Indian lotus is listed in the Red Book of Russia, the halo of its distribution is extensive: from the tropical and temperate regions of Asia to Australia.
The plant begins to bloom in the second half of summer and throughout the entire period its petals constantly change their color: if at first they are bright pink, then they gradually become white.
Despite the fact that this plant grows mainly only in warm countries, in the south of Russia there is a magnificently beautiful water garden; the pink lotus has so successfully taken root near the Akhatanizovsky estuary on the Taman Peninsula that it has formed an incredibly beautiful area called the Lotus Valley.
Lotus Valley is completely covered with floating green leaves. They are decorated with the most delicate pink flowers, opening at dawn and closing in the afternoon into a dense bud. The pink lotus blooms for about four to five days, after which the petals fall off. Due to the fact that the rhizome of the plant is constantly growing, roots, leaves and one peduncle appear at each node, thanks to which the Lotus Valley blooms until September.
Lotus yellow (American)
The yellow flower is common on the South American continent and the islands nearby. In terms of its characteristics, this species is similar to the Indian one, only the emergent leaves of the lotus are more durable, and the flower smells stronger.
Water lilies
Lotuses include white, red and even blue lotuses. The red lotus is a symbol of India (in books it symbolizes not only the original nature and purity of the heart, but is also the lotus of love, compassion, passion, in a word, its meaning contains all the properties of the heart). It is believed that the present lives in the rays of the Red Sun, and Buddha Shakmuni reigns over all things, whose throne is the Red Lotus.
But the ancient Egyptians believed that the white lotus symbolized sleep and sweet oblivion, since the Nile white lotus, unlike its relatives, opened only at night. Whereas the Chinese and Japanese still eat the candied roots of this water lily, believing that the white lotus will prolong their youth and preserve their beauty for as long as possible.
But most important the ancients (judging by the books) had a blue lotus - it symbolized immortality, since it was able to survive and continue to grow even after a long drought.
The blue lotus amazed with the ability of its seeds to remain viable for many years (the blue lotus of the ancient Egyptians often decorated tombs and sarcophagi). The Chinese believed that the blue lotus was a symbol female beauty, and the Hindus went even further: their goddess Brahma, the creator of the universe, arose from a lotus flower.
In addition to its symbolic meaning, the blue lotus also had a practical meaning: perfumes, various drinks and smoking mixtures have long been made from its petals. It is interesting that several years ago the blue lotus was included in the list of narcotic drugs in Russia and its petals and leaves were prohibited for consumption.
True, a year later the ban was lifted, but its characterization as a plant containing narcotic and psychotropic substances, and therefore requiring supervision, remained.
Medicinal plant
The flower, listed in the Red Book, contains not only narcotic, but also biologically active substances, protein, manganese, copper, oils, vitamin C. Therefore, doctors recommend using its tinctures as a tonic, cardiotonic, and general strengthening agent.
It is known that ancient healers even used this plant as a diuretic and hemostatic agent, and prescribed it for severe exhaustion or malaise to stimulate the human immune system - in short, in the treatment of diseases, the blue lotus (as, indeed, other types of plants) was of no small importance.
Residents of Asian countries grow and use it as a vegetable: the roots are boiled, fried, pickled, eaten raw, starch, flour and oil are extracted. The leaves are used instead of asparagus, delicacies are prepared from the seeds, and even marmalade is made.
How to grow a symbol of the gods
Since this amazing flower is a plant that lives only in bodies of water, few people think of the idea of growing lotuses at home. There are such lovers - moreover, among them there are experimenters who managed to grow this flower in a bathtub (however, then they still had to take the plant to the pond).
In order for the embryo to “wake up” faster, you need to saw off the peel from the blunt end of the lotus seed, and then place the seeds in a jar of water. In about five days, a sprout will emerge from the seed and begin to grow. Having reached the surface of the water, the sprout will begin to unfold, forming a small lotus leaf.
Plants should be planted in a pond only in the warm season, when the danger of late frosts has disappeared (it is advisable that the water temperature at a depth of 0.5 meters be about 30 degrees). Sprouts should only be planted in shallow water, carefully immersed in the soil to a depth of about six centimeters, so that the leaves remain on the surface (otherwise the young plant, not being able to gain a foothold with its roots, will drown).
When planting a plant, you need to take into account that the root can “fall asleep” for several years and wake up only when favorable conditions appear for its development. It is not for nothing that the lotus is a symbol of rebirth, because it managed to survive the Ice Age.
Most plants grown at home can be divided into classes. Some classes can be grown exclusively in a closed space at home. Some can be kept exclusively in outdoors. There are flowers that will grow well in unpretentious conditions - even in the warmth or outside. Understanding which group the plant belongs to, it becomes correct to organize proper care. Critical maintenance principles consist of ensuring atmospheric humidity, the amount of moisture entering the soil and ensuring a safe temperature. The sun is one of the main conditions.
General information about the aquatic plant "Lotus"
LOTUS (Nelumbo) is a genus of dicotyledonous herbaceous amphibian plants, the modified stems of which are immersed deep under water in the ground. At the same time, the lotus develops three types of leaves: underwater, floating and above-water, rising high above the surface of the water, which grow on flexible long petioles. It is the only representative of the Lotus family (Nelumbonaceae).
The flowers are always turned towards the sun; they bloom early in the morning and close at night. The petals turn bright pink in the morning, but gradually fade and in the afternoon you can see an incredible range of colors - from rich pink to almost white. You can admire the lotus blooming in the thickets for quite a long time, since quite a few flowers bloom on one plant, but not at the same time, although the flower itself lives only three days.
Description, types and varieties of lotus
Lotuses have been separated into an independent family since 1829, called Nelumbonaceae. This family consists of only one genus - Nelumbo and three species:
This unusual aquatic plant first appeared in North Africa, but at the moment it can be found even in Southern Europe. The lotus is especially common in the tropics and temperate zones. Nelumbo nucifera (nut-bearing) formerly known as N. speciosum (Wild), grows wild in South and Central Asia. It grows in muddy, stagnant and slowly flowing waters of the Nile and Ganges. It is this plant that is considered sacred in the eyes of the natives.
The entire plant is considered edible, and the root is a delicacy and is widely used for medicinal purposes. It is better to collect flowers in the pre-dawn hour, as soon as they are ready to open towards the sun. At this time, flowers are most fragrant and suitable for various purposes. As is already known, seeds remain viable for centuries, but see all this on a separate page...
Nut-bearing lotus, or Indian (lat. Nelumbo nucifera) 
It grows in northeastern Australia, the Russian Far East, the Philippine Islands, the Malay Archipelago, the island of Sri Lanka, as well as in India, China, and Japan. This species can be found in Kalmykia, the Volgograd region (Sredneakhtubinsky district, before reaching the village of Lebyazhya Polyana), the Astrakhan Nature Reserve, the Krasnodar and Primorsky Territories.
The plant has large shield-shaped leaves that rise above the water, pale green below and dark green above. The waxy coating gives a slight bluish tint to the entire plant. Erect petioles reach a length of two meters, the rhizomes are quite branched, powerful and knotty. Large lotus flowers, 25-30 cm in diameter, are pink in color, not strong, but pleasant aroma. In the center of the flower there are many bright yellow stamens. Quite large single-seeded nuts (fruits) 1.5 cm long, with a dense pericarp, located in a cone-shaped receptacle. The first leaves of the nut-bearing lotus appear in May, and it blooms in late July or early August. The flowering period ends in late autumn.
Not long ago, the nut-bearing lotus began to be divided into two subspecies:
Yellow lotus, or Nile water lily (Nelumbo lutea) Has become widespread in the New World. It grows on the Hawaiian Islands, the coast of Central and North America, therefore it is also called the American lotus. This species is practically no different from the nut-bearing lotus, except in the color of the flowers and the duration of flowering. This plant has bright flowers yellow, open at sunrise in May, and by noon they form buds. Flowering lasts no more than five days, then it sheds its petals.
Caspian lotus (Nelumbo caspica) 
Not everyone knows that the lotus flower grows not only in the tropical latitudes of Africa or America, but is also found in our country. It is also called Astrakhan rose, Caspian or Chulpan rose. Currently, this famous pink flower lives both in artificial pools and ponds, and in natural conditions environment.
The appearance of lotus in the Caspian Sea still causes heated debate. Some believe that it was brought by Buddhist monks from Kalmykia, while others claim that it has been preserved since the Tertiary period. The Caspian lotus was first found in the Chulpan Bay by the Russian scientist Semyon Ivanovich Gremyachinsky in August 1849. Now the flower grows in bays and lakes with very warm water. When the water level drops significantly, the plant finds itself on dry land, but continues to develop. The Caspian lotus blooms at the end of summer, and by October the fruits are already ripening.
Komarov's lotus (Nelumbo komarowii) Grows in the Far East in the Amur basin, along the lower reaches of the Ussuri River, on Lake Malaya Khanka, where it occupies quite vast areas. Here it has been preserved from past eras as a living fossil, when the climate was much warmer. It gradually adapted to existing conditions and became frost-resistant. Usually the silt in which its rhizomes overwinter does not freeze, but in rare cases of freezing the plant dies.
Garden lotus varieties
garden plantsRise above yourself.
So, the Lotus Flower meditation. In my opinion, it is described in most detail in the works of the same mysterious Anastasia Novykh. However, we were especially interested in something else; references to analogues of this spiritual practice are scattered everywhere, both in religions and in various esoteric sources. According to quite popular statements today, “Lotus” meditation (as it is also called for short) is a direct and shortest path to the Soul, which I will try to understand to this day.
Of course, you must initially understand that the “Lotus Flower” is not a panacea, but just a tool, so the purpose of the experiment is not only banal study and blog coverage, but a broader complex of spiritual, personal studies that allow you to take over your Animal Nature.
Lotus (Nelumbo) - beauty on the water
Plant type: aquatic perennial.
- Homeland: the birthplace of the yellow lotus is the USA, and the nut-bearing lotus originates from the Philippines, the countries of the East, Northern Australia, Egypt, the Volga River delta near the Caspian Sea.
- Growing environment: artificial reservoirs, ponds, containers.
- Flowering: present.
- Lighting: It is advisable to provide full sunlight.
- Humidity level: high.
- Aroma: yes. Due to the pleasant aroma, the foliage and flowers of these plants have been found wide application in cooking.
Photo of lotus on water
Every 3-4 weeks. When applying fertilizing, you must be very careful, since growing shoots may be damaged. 10 cm pots with good garden loam. A hole must be dug for the seeds, and each of them must be planted in separate pots. Gently cover the roots with gravel or soil. If you have waited too long and the leaves have begun to sprout, they should also be covered with soil, just as you covered the roots. There should be as much light as possible. Lotuses can be placed in garden water only when it warms up to at least +15°C. Lotuses can also be planted in larger containers without holes for drainage. If the plant is grown from seeds, it may not bloom in the first year.
What does the lotus symbolize?
Lotus flowers have perhaps the richest and most universal symbolism in the world and are described in large quantities the most sacred myths and legends. They are known not only for their exquisite beauty and delightful aroma, but also for their healing properties - pacifying the spirit and healing the body, giving vitality and confidence, attractiveness and long youth. In fact, the lotus is the most sacred plant of the Eastern countries, which unanimously identify it with light, pristine purity, chastity and self-knowledge.
The exquisite child of Flora has enough reasons for such veneration: having originated in the muddy bottom, the lotus bud overcomes the thickness of the water and blooms at dawn under the first rays of the sun - and at sunset it closes its petals again and plunges into the dark, cool depths. So the lotus began to personify the Sun, the movement of heavenly bodies, the change of day and night. In addition, this flower symbolizes the Universe, eternity and time - past, present and future - because the same plant simultaneously has seeds-nuts, flowers and buds that have not yet opened. Lotus fruits that fall into infertile soil can sleep for a century and a half - and then again give life to beautiful flowers. Combining the elements of earth (the bottom of a reservoir), water, air and fire (the sun), the lotus turns out to be inseparably linked with the creation of the world.
Lotus in Egypt
For the Egyptians, the lotus symbolized the sun, resurrection, beauty, prosperity and fertility, as well as supreme power. The fragrant flower with flexible green stems was woven into the mythology of ancient civilization, becoming an integral attribute of the gods. The sun god Ra was born from a lotus that blossomed on the surface of the Primordial Water. His son, Horus, rose every morning from a lotus flower at sunrise and lay down to rest in it. The god of fertility and revival of life, Osiris, and his wife Isis sat on thrones of lotuses, and their heads were crowned with headdresses woven from beautiful flowers.
Inheriting their gods, the pharaohs decorated their heads with flowers of the “heavenly blue lily”, wore scepters in the form of a lotus flower on a long stem, and the tombs of their rulers were strewn with its petals so that they would be resurrected in the afterlife. Five lotuses were the emblem of Upper Egypt, and the buds were engraved on gold coins. Lotus wreaths were used to decorate statues of gods, temples, and the heads of important guests, and at feasts servants carried fresh flowers like dishes, and replaced them with fresh ones at the first signs of wilting. Lotus was used in Egyptian architecture - on columns, as a wall decoration. The Egyptians even used the image of a lotus as a hieroglyph for the number 1000.
The Egyptians used Nile lotus oil in love magic: they believed that dripping it onto the three main points - behind the ears and in the center of the forehead - formed a pyramid with its apex facing the stars - and this made them especially charming. The lotus also served as a talisman: by inhaling the aroma of the flower, a person received its protection, and if he constantly wore a stem, leaf, petal or nut of a lotus on his body, the gods gave him blessings, happiness and immortality.
An ancient Egyptian proverb says: “Many lotuses on the water - there will be great fertility.” And this was already a completely earthly happiness for the Egyptian people - after all, hearty bread was baked from lotus fruits rich in starch, fiber and sugars and medicinal infusions were prepared.
Lotus in India
The ancient Vedic civilization considered the Lotus to be the flower of Life, since it was present in the original chaos, and gave rise to all things: The Upanishads describe the earth as a lotus flower floating on the surface of cosmic infinity. Hindus depicted the throne of many Hindu gods as a lotus. From the navel of the first god in the world, Vishnu, a lotus once grew, and from this flower Brahma, the creator of the worlds, appeared. The gods plowed the milk ocean - and then the goddess of happiness and beauty Lakshmi emerged from its depths with a lotus in her hands, becoming the wife of Vishnu.
Aromatic tea was brewed from blue lotus petals, and they were also smoked through a hookah. The emblem of India today is the red lotus - “the friend of the sun, blooming only when the month passes and the cold of the night.”
Lotus in China
In China during the Taoist era, the lotus was considered a sacred plant: the maiden He Hsin-gu, one of the Eight Immortals, was depicted with a lotus flower in her hands. The structure of the Universe in Buddhist belief is understood as countless lotuses, contained successively one within the other ad infinitum. The image of this flower was necessarily present in Chinese painting - in the western part of the sky, artists depicted the “heavenly lotus lake” - so in Ancient China understood a paradise where every flower communicated with souls. If the deceased person was virtuous, the lotus blossomed; otherwise, it withered.
Buddhists associated the lotus with the image of Buddha: when he was born, a generous rain of lotuses fell from the sky. The boy immediately took the first seven steps, and where his feet left traces, lotuses grew. The most famous yoga pose, in which meditative concentration and the sharpest concentration of attention are achieved, was called the “lotus” pose for a reason. Buddha is also depicted sitting on a blossoming lotus flower: its root is like matter, the stem stretching upward is the soul, and the flower that does not touch the water and the sun-drenched flower is spirit. “Even living among the mud of a swamp, you can remain spotlessly clean,” said the Buddha. Therefore, the lotus position symbolizes nirvana - the complete opening of the soul and spirit. Buddha's Paradise was also imagined as gardens with blooming white, blue, yellow, pink and red lotuses in ponds.
In the Feng Shui movement that is popular today all over the world, images of a lotus flower or its glass figurines are used to awaken spiritual consciousness and pacify the home atmosphere, to activate zones of wealth and partnership.
Lotus in Antiquity
Homer described in the Odyssey a long-standing myth about “lotophages” - people who tasted the lotus, forgot their past life and did not want to leave the place where the magical flower bloomed - Libya (it was in such a place that Odysseus’s companions wanted to stay forever). And the ancient Romans had a legend about the nymph Lotis, pursued by Priapus, who turned into a lotus flower. Hercules made one of his journeys in a golden boat in the shape of a lotus. Ovid's Metamorphoses tells the story of Dryope, who picked a lotus, being transformed into a lotus tree. This flower was also dedicated to Aphrodite and Hera.
Lotus - sacred flower Buddhism surprises scientists all over the world; its leaves and petals always remain pure. The flower serves as a symbol of the spirit rising above the sensory world, as it retains its spotless white flower while emerging from the muddy water. This is explained by its rough surface, visible through a microscope, from which all dirt is washed off by rain.
Photo of a pink lotus in the sun. For three days, soft pink or white flowers open in all their splendor in the morning and close in the evening. But already on the fourth day the beautiful flowers wither. And this is not surprising, because lotus flowers spent a lot of energy...
Lotus is a relative of water lilies and grows in Africa in the waters of the Nile River. The lotus leaves are concave in the middle, 1.5 m wide, and its pinkish or white flowers reach 35 cm in diameter. When the Nile flooded, carrying fertile silt to the fields, lotuses began to bloom along the banks of the river, in ditches and ditches. Since ancient times, a proverb has been preserved: “There will be many lotuses on the water, and there will be great fertility.”
The ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote: “When a river overflows its banks and floods the plain, they grow in large numbers on the water. lilies, called "lotus" by the Egyptians. They cut them, dry them in the sun, then break the poppy-like seeds extracted from the middle of the lotus and prepare a dough that is baked over a fire. The root of this plant is also edible and has a rather pleasant sweetish taste, it is round and the size of an apple." The plant gave people tasty food and a cure for many diseases.
Lotus flowers are amazingly beautiful and always face the sun. Purity and beauty are what make it sacred. Although the lotus grows from muddy water, it always remains dry and radiates purity and freshness. The reason for this is the special structure of its petals and leaves: they can repel water and self-clean. The water collects in drops and flows off, collecting everything from the leaf that could contaminate it.
The sacred lotus flower has been worshiped for many centuries; it has occupied an honorable place in religious rites, traditions and legends, as evidenced by numerous monuments of writing, architecture and art. More than five and a half thousand years ago, the Egyptians depicted lotuses on tombs, and on the altars of sacrifices it symbolized the resurrection from the dead, although in Egyptian hieroglyphs it meant joy and pleasure. Women, going to visit, decorated their hair with lotus flowers and held their bouquets in their hands.
The sacred lotus of the ancient Egyptians, from which the god Ra was born and which served as the throne for the fertility goddess Isis and the sun god Osiris, who was depicted sitting on a lotus leaf, and the god of Light of the Mountains - on a flower. This expressed the connection of the flower with the sun, which, like the water lily flower, opens in the morning and sinks into the water in the evening. Even in ancient times, the Egyptians noticed that the lotus is very light-loving; it can open both at sunrise and at moonrise.
The flower became a symbol of Egypt and since ancient times the state emblem has featured five lotus flowers, and the scepter - a sign of the power of the Egyptian pharaohs - was made in the form of a flower on a long stem. The flower and buds were stamped on Egyptian coins; its image was used to decorate the columns of Egyptian palaces and temples, at the base of which there were lotus leaves, and in the upper part - a bunch of stems with flowers and buds.
In addition to the white one, in the Nile Valley there is also a blue Nile lotus, which the Egyptians call the “heavenly lily”, and even bright red lotuses grow in Tibet, India and Mongolia. In India they are loved and revered, still chanting it in ritual dances. The red lotus is still the emblem of modern India. There is even a saying: “Lotus flowers are a ship on which a drowning person in the ocean of life can find his salvation.”
The mythopoetic tradition of Ancient India represented the earth as a giant lotus blooming on the surface of the waters, and heaven as a huge lake overgrown with beautiful pink lotuses, where righteous, pure souls live.
The ancient Indian epic Mahabharata describes a lotus that had a thousand petals, shone like the sun and scattered a delicious aroma around. This lotus, according to legend, lengthened life and restored youth and beauty.
The white lotus is an indispensable attribute of divine power. In India, a flower is a symbol of purity - growing out of dirt, it is never dirty, and therefore it is compared to a chaste person to whom no filth sticks. Indian mythology endowed the goddess Sri, or Lakshmi, the wife of Vishnu, who was considered the patroness of fertility and prosperity, with such chastity. She was called “lotus born”, “standing on the lotus”, “lotus colored”. In one of the temple medallions, Goddess Sri is depicted standing on a lotus. Surrounded by leaves and flowers, she swims across the ocean.
Many Indian gods have traditionally been depicted standing or sitting on a lotus or holding a flower in their hand. Buddha sits on it and Brahma rests. Vishnu, the demiurge of the universe, holds a lotus in one of his four hands. “Lotus goddesses” are depicted with a flower in their hair. A copious rain of lotuses fell from the sky at the moment of Buddha's birth, and wherever the divine newborn set foot, a huge lotus grew.
And in China, the lotus was revered as a sacred plant. There, the flower also personifies purity, chastity, fertility, and productive power. In addition, it is a symbol of summer and is one of the eight emblems of successful prediction.
In Taoist folklore, the virtuous maiden He Xiangu was depicted holding in her hands the “flower of open heartfulness” - a lotus or a staff with elements of this flower. Its image plays an important role in Chinese and Buddhist art, in particular in painting: - ancient Chinese artists painted a lotus lake in the western part of the sky. The lotus growing on this lake, according to their ideas, communicated with the soul of a deceased person. Depending on the degree of a person’s virtue in earthly life, flowers bloomed or withered.
Colorful photos of blooming lotuses will give you happiness and good luck in your quest to comprehend all the secrets of nature. .
Lotus in human life
As a medicinal plant, the flower was known in China several thousand years before new era. In traditional Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Arabic, and Tibetan medicine, all parts of the plant were used to prepare medicines - whole seeds or their large mealy germs, receptacle, petals, pedicels, stamens, pistils, leaves, roots and rhizomes.
In addition, it is a valuable food and dietary plant. Its root and fruits are used as food. After successful pollination, the plant produces edible seeds the size of a hazelnut. Boiled in sugar, they are considered a favorite children's treat in Asia.
In Japan and China, various dishes are also prepared from the roots and leaves of this plants. Rural populations in China, India and Japan still use their seeds and rhizomes to make flour and obtain starch, sugar and oil. The rhizomes are often used to make soup or serve as a side dish. They say that among the confectionery products in China, candied lotus rhizomes cut into small slices, reminiscent of marmalade in taste, are famous. In addition, the Chinese eat the stamens and stem, believing that this food restores beauty and youth to old people. Chinese women decorate themselves with its flowers, as the ancient Egyptians and Phoenicians once did.
IN Ancient Greece There were widespread stories about people eating lotus - "lotophagi" ("lotus eaters"). According to legend, anyone who tastes lotus flowers will never want to part with the homeland of this flower.
An ordinary lotus has fruits that are not sweet, but the lotus flower is another species (lotus tree) that has sweet fruits. The lotus tree, along with the flower, has considerable symbolism. In the same Greek mythology The nymph Lotis (Lotis), fleeing from Priapus who was pursuing her, turned into a lotus tree.
It is not without reason that in almost all traditions the lotus is a symbol of purity. He is able to cleanse the space around him from negative vibrations. The aura of this plant exudes such a powerful energy field that no evil can coexist next to it. The room where the lotus is located becomes sacred just from its presence, which is why the lotus is so often used to consecrate the altar.
The lotus is often used to protect against witchcraft. The biofield of this plant can neutralize any negative energies. Where the lotus is located, no black magic works; any attempts to create any evil will be nullified.
Lotus is often used to get rid of depression, melancholy and sadness. Moreover, its property is such that it brings you out of a depressed state very smoothly, gradually. This allows the human body and psyche to properly adapt to surrounding reality. But if you come out of depression abruptly, that is, from melancholy immediately into wild joy, then this will only give a negative result, since this is already an extreme, while health is harmony.
The lotus aura can change a person’s consciousness and direct his thoughts to more spiritual spheres. It is not without reason that in the East, from ancient times to this day, the lotus has served as the most popular symbol of Spiritual development, as well as a symbol of almost all Eastern deities.
The use of lotus is especially recommended for those people who are too mired in material world who all the time think only about work, money and profit, completely forgetting about the second side of their personality - the spiritual. If such a person carries lotus petals with him or sits near this plant for at least half an hour, then gradually his character and consciousness will change. His nature will become more refined, he will gradually begin to turn his attention to spiritual matters.
Lotus Life Power
In 1881, during excavations of the tomb of Pharaoh Ramses II and Princess Nsi-Khonsu, several dried blue lotus buds were found, which had lain in the ground for 3,000 years and retained their color. Among the dazzling riches of the tomb, these flowers made the greatest impression. Such is the magical power and charm of flowers.
Sometimes lotus seeds are stored for hundreds of years and are fraught with scientific sensation. In 1933, magazines reported that Indian lotus plants, the seeds of which were four centuries old, were blooming in Kew Botanical Gardens near London. When scientists doubted such a statement and decided to test it experimentally, they managed to germinate seeds that were 1040 years old!
American scientists from the University of California managed to grow a healthy young plant from a 1228-year-old lotus seed, which was kept as a relic in one of the museums. They germinated the seed in four days, the small seed sprouted as if it had been born quite recently. Before the start of this experiment, several more ancient lotuses were grown from seeds brought from the Beijing Institute of Botany, from seeds of no less “venerable” age. This is probably the oldest germinated seed. It was found in a dry lotus pond in China. The seed lay there for many hundreds of years, and after four days it released a small green sprout.
Hanging my sleepy head
Under the fire of the day's rays,
Waiting for the twinkling nights.
And it just floats out
Red moon in the sky,
He raises his head
Waking up from sleep.
Glistens on fragrant leaves
His dew is pure tears,
And he trembles lovingly,
Looking sadly into the heavens.
G. Heine
Lotus is one of the most ancient flowers on earth- they already existed in the Cretaceous period, more than 100 million years ago. Their fossil remains are also found in North America, and in the Far East, and even in the Arctic. Nowadays, strictly speaking, there are only two types of purebred lotuses.
Yellow lotus (Nelumbo lute a) lives on the Atlantic coast of North and Central America, on the Hawaiian Islands. The Indians of local tribes call it "chinkepin", or small water chestnut, because of its fruits, which taste like chestnuts.
Indian lotus, or nut-bearing lotus (N. nucifera), - an inhabitant of the eastern hemisphere, he lives in the warm and hot regions of South and East Asia, southern Japan, India and China, the Philippines and northeastern Australia. This lotus also grows in our country - in the Far East, Transcaucasia and the Volga delta. True, if we are to be scrupulously precise, it should be noted that some botanists assign the status independent type Caspian lotus (N. caspicum).
The Volga Delta is the northernmost point of distribution of the lotus and the only place in Europe where you can still see the legendary flower growing in freedom. The total area it occupies here is about 60 hectares. The fact that you can still admire the lotus on the Volga owes much to the creation of the Astrakhan Nature Reserve - the first Soviet nature reserve, established in 1919, when the lotus here was in danger of complete extinction.
Interestingly, at the end of the 60s, the thickets of lotus flowers suddenly began to increase rapidly. At first this caused surprise, but then everything became clearer. Due to the drop in the level of the Caspian Sea, many estuaries, creeks, and shallow lakes were formed, where the water warmed up very well, creating conditions for the lotus that were close to their native and familiar ones: it loves shallow water.
And yet the lotus has a hard time; it still requires care and protection. Its flowers often perish in bouquets of exotic lovers. Lotus fields thin out even when moisture leaves when the land is drained. The nutritious rhizomes of the plant are happily eaten by various local animals, especially wild pigs (“even the dung beetle has a desire to eat honey from the lotus,” says a Bengali proverb). And livestock does not pass by the appetizing stems and rhizomes of the lotus.
So that a beautiful flower does not disappear on our land
We have to protect it by all means. And the lotus is very beautiful, especially during the flowering period, which occurs on the Volga in August. Its buds open with the first rays of the sun. At first the petals are bright pink, but gradually turn pale, and the flowering thickets turn red with the whole gamut of shades of pink. The flower heads, lush and large, about 30 cm in size, sit on long curved legs that stretch to a height of almost two meters. And under them, on long petioles, are leaves, thyroid-shaped, more than half a meter in diameter, covered with a gray-green waxy coating, with a deep depression in the middle.
Some leaves are floating, some are underwater. Lotus flowers always face the sun: they, as botanists say, have positive heliotropism. Just below the place where the flower is attached to the peduncle, there is a kind of sensitive receiver of light radiation. It is in this place that the flower changes its position, following the luminary floating across the sky.
When the lotus petals fall, the receptacle grows and becomes like a funnel home shower, only with holes facing upward, and in each hole there is a fruit. The ripe fruit breaks off, falls into the water and floats until it rots. Then the nuts fall out, sinking to the bottom. Here they can lie for a very long time - it is not for nothing that the lotus is called the record holder for seed survival.
Once in Japan, in a peat bog, three lotus seeds were found, the age of which, as shown by radiocarbon dating, was about 2 thousand years! They were surrounded by careful care, and two fruits sprouted, bloomed and grew into healthy plants...
And the lotus flower and the Buddha...
Indian legends say that immediately after birth, Buddha took seven steps on his own - and where the baby’s foot stepped, a lotus blossomed. Indian lotus flowers 
They are revered as a symbol of eternal youth, they decorate the most magnificent temples, and the creator god Brahma is always depicted against the background of a sacred flower.
The lotus flower is central to popular Buddhist magic spell: “om mani padme hum.” It is inscribed on every object of worship, it fills prayer mills, and every devout Buddhist repeats it constantly. The original meaning of the spell is not even known to many believers, but “padme” means not only “lotus”, it also feminine. And the theme of the unity of the male (“mani”) and female (“padme”) principles, giving birth, is clearly visible in the spell new life. The legendary property of the lotus is also connected with this - it supposedly helps a person, having consigned his former sorrows to oblivion, to be reborn in a new quality.
Even in their cosmological ideas, the ancient Indians could not do without the lotus. In the form of its seven-petalled flower, they depicted the inhabited world: its center was located somewhere in the Himalayas supporting the sky and in the mountains of Tibet, there, in the upper reaches of the Ganges, rose the sacred Mount Meru - the capital of the gods, and from there, like lotus petals from the center of the flower, V different sides continents stretched out.
The lotus was not only worshiped - it was fed on
Man paid attention to the lotus at the very dawn of its history. During excavations, archaeologists encounter lotus seeds in the sites of people who lived 50-70 thousand years ago. It has always been a reliable help in feeding the poor people of the Eastern countries. The Bengalis still have a saying: “They say they live well, but the lotus roots have even turned their teeth black.” The centuries-old worship of the lotus is largely explained by the fact that in difficult years it saved the population from hunger. Lotus rhizomes, rich in starch, were widely consumed. They were boiled and fried, dried and ground into flour, from which flat cakes were made. To this day, peasants in China, Japan and India make flour from lotus seeds and rhizomes, prepare starch, boil sugar, and squeeze out oil.
Residents of these countries can treat themselves to a full lotus meal: the first course is soup made from rhizomes, the second is boiled with it as a side dish, an excellent substitute for potatoes, and the third is an exotic delicacy: candied slices of the same rhizomes, which taste very similar to marmalade A delicious coffee substitute has been and is being prepared from dried lotus seeds, and in Vietnam they like to drink tea with lotus seeds - they give the drink a special aroma. In China and Japan, lotus is even grown on special plantations. It is no coincidence that there are now many cultural forms of lotus.
But the peoples of the East did not only use lotus for food. In Chinese medicine, all parts of the plant are considered medicinal and are used against fever, skin ulcers, and burns. Tibetan medicine also pays considerable attention to lotus. One of the fundamental medicinal treatises says that lotus should be included in the group of medicines that cure “badkan” diseases with fever. When deciphering this treatise, carried out by scientists from Buryatia, it turned out that this group of drugs includes those that help with metabolic disorders and various inflammatory phenomena.
And in the history of the lotus...
The word "lotus" has its roots in ancient greek language, which came from Hebrew. Having migrated to Latin, it spread to many countries and even in languages very distant from each other - Slavic, Romance, Germanic - it retained its original appearance.
However, both the Greeks and the Romans called “lotus” not at all the same (or not only that) flower about which we're talking about. Here are “lotuses” from the ancient Greek-Russian dictionary: “Greek lotus” is a type of clover; “Lotus of Cyrene” - a tree with sweet fruits, identified with one of the representatives of the buckthorn family (it is mentioned by Homer, Herodotus, and Strabo, they also talk about a tribe of lotus eaters who ate the fruits of this tree); “Egyptian or Nile lotus” - a type of water lily; "African lotus" is a tree with black wood.
So historically, “lotuses” are not at all what we mean now. Apparently, such a confusion of concepts occurred due to the fact that these plants live in similar conditions, most often in water (by the way, in Latin lofio means “bathing”, “washing”). As for the real lotus, it is not a “lotus” at all. Its generic and specific name - Nelumbo - is taken from the language of the Sinhalese, the indigenous population of the island of Sri Lanka. Under this name this plant entered science. It is interesting that even in the “Dictionary of Foreign Words Included in the Russian Language”, published in 1894, there are the following explanations: “Nelumbium is a plant from the family of the same name, the Indian water lily... Lotus is a plant from the water lily family...” Others plants called lotuses are very distantly related to them.
The most famous namesake of lotuses is the white Nile lotus (Nimphaea lotus) from a completely different family - the Nymphaeaceae. It also looks very similar to the Indian lotus. Thousands and four years ago, his Indian namesake appeared next to him on the Nile. It is unknown who brought it to these parts and how. But he also liked the new places, and the Egyptian fellahs liked him. And he, together with the long-familiar local lotus, began to diversify the poor man’s table. Most likely, this is why he did not live to see our times on the Nile. And the native lotus is also found there less and less now.
But it, like the Indian lotus in India, has always been a sacred flower for the Egyptians: according to ancient beliefs, the main Egyptian sun god was born from a lotus flower in the thickets of the Great Nile. The cult of the lotus penetrated deeply into Egyptian life. Its flower symbolized Lower Egypt, adorned the country's coat of arms, and was minted on coins. Both the highest attribute of power - the rod of the pharaoh, and the columns of Djoser's pyramid were copied from the stems of the sacred flower. The interweaving of its stems varied endlessly on furniture, on the handles of fans and staves, on vases and jugs made of faience, stone and gold.
The halls where the Egyptian nobility feasted were decorated with garlands of their favorite flower, and participants in the ceremonies were presented with wreaths of white lotus. The hieroglyph depicting a lotus flower was read as “joy” and “happiness.”
The Egyptians prepared flour from lotus seeds, and it often saved the poor from hunger. Fabrics were woven from lotus fibers. The life of a lotus flower is short, and if the lotuses bloomed at the same time, the Egyptians considered this a happy omen: it means that a fertile year is coming.
Lotus - a symbol of purity and love
Another species of the same family, the blue or Egyptian lotus, was also deeply revered. Its sky-blue flowers bloom during the day, as if replacing the night-blooming white Nile lotus. And its flowers were a frequent motif in painting and carving. When scientists opened the tomb of Ramses II and Princess Nsi-Khonsu, they saw several dried buds and blue lotus flowers on the half-decayed fabric of the bedspread. These three-thousand-year-old flowers have retained their almost pristine blue...
The lotus is so beautiful that when talking about it, you involuntarily fall into some sentimentality. What can you do - at all times, among all the peoples who knew it, the lotus was a symbol of purity and love; Is it possible to speak about him in cold, indifferent words?
In memory of his untimely death, the mighty Shah Jahan erected the Taj Mahal mausoleum three and a half centuries ago near Agra, along the banks of the Jamna River. Now all over the world it is called the legend of love and the swan song in marble. In the very center of the mausoleum is a tomb decorated with lotus flowers, each of 64 precious stones. In front of the mausoleum, complementing the white marble ensemble, there is a huge pond - and it is dotted with lotus flowers, only live ones.
In Rabindranath Tagore's poem "Gifts of the Beloved" it is said about the Taj Mahal: "...You crowned formless death with immortal form." And the dome of the marble pearl of India is crowned with an inverted bowl of an Indian lotus flower facing the stars.
On the lake of lotuses near Khabarovsk
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Grape
In gardens and personal plots, you can choose a warmer place for planting grapes, for example, on the sunny side of the house, garden pavilion, or veranda. It is recommended to plant grapes along the border of the site. The vines formed in one line will not take up much space and at the same time will be well lit from all sides. Near buildings, grapes must be placed so that they are not exposed to water flowing from the roofs. On level ground you need to make ridges with good drain due to drainage furrows. Some gardeners, following the experience of their colleagues from the western regions of the country, dig deep planting holes and fill them with organic fertilizers and fertilized soil. The holes, dug in waterproof clay, are a kind of closed vessel that is filled with water during the monsoon rains. In fertile land root system The grapes develop well at first, but as soon as waterlogging begins, they suffocate. Deep holes can play a positive role on soils where good natural drainage, permeable subsoil is provided, or reclamation artificial drainage is possible. Planting grapes
You can quickly restore an outdated grape bush using the layering method (“katavlak”). For this purpose, healthy vines of a neighboring bush are placed in grooves dug to the place where the dead bush used to grow, and covered with earth. The top is brought to the surface, from which a new bush then grows. Lignified vines are laid on layering in the spring, and green ones - in July. They are not separated from the mother bush for two to three years. A frozen or very old bush can be restored by short pruning to healthy above-ground parts or by pruning to the “black head” of an underground trunk. In the latter case, the underground trunk is freed from the ground and completely cut down. Not far from the surface, new shoots grow from dormant buds, due to which a new bush is formed. Neglected and severely frost-damaged grape bushes are restored due to stronger fatty shoots formed in the lower part of the old wood and the removal of weakened sleeves. But before removing the sleeve, a replacement is formed. Grape care
A gardener starting to grow grapes needs to thoroughly study the structure of the grapevine and the biology of this interesting plant. Grapes are vine (climbing) plants and require support. But it can spread along the ground and take root, as is observed with Amur grapes in a wild state. Roots and aboveground part The stems grow quickly, branch strongly and reach large sizes. Under natural conditions, without human intervention, a branched bush of grapes grows with many vines of different orders, which begins to bear fruit late and produces crops irregularly. In cultivation, grapes are shaped and the bushes are given a shape that is easy to care for, ensuring a high yield of high-quality bunches. Grapevine Planting Schisandra
Schisandra chinensis, or schisandra, has several names - lemon Tree, red grapes, gomisha (Japanese), cochinta, kodzyanta (Nanai), kolchita (Ulch), usimtya (Udege), uchampu (Oroch). In terms of structure, systemic relationship, center of origin and distribution, Schisandra chinensis has nothing in common with the real citrus plant lemon, but all its organs (roots, shoots, leaves, flowers, berries) exude the aroma of lemon, hence the name Schisandra. Schisandra vine clinging or entwining around a support along with Amur grapes, three species of actinidia, is an original plant of the Far Eastern taiga. Its fruits, like real lemons, are too sour for fresh consumption, but they have medicinal properties, a pleasant aroma, and this attracted a lot of attention to him. The taste of Schisandra chinensis berries improves somewhat after frost. Local hunters who consume such fruits claim that they relieve fatigue, invigorate the body and improve vision. The consolidated Chinese Pharmacopoeia, compiled back in 1596, states: “the fruit of Chinese lemongrass has five tastes, classified as the first category of medicinal substances. The pulp of lemongrass is sour and sweet, the seeds are bitter and astringent, and in general the taste of the fruit is salty. Thus, All five tastes are present in it." Grow lemongrass
