Lotus
a name given by the Greeks to a number of different plants whose fruit was used for food. One of the most notable of these is the Zizyphus lotus of the N. of Africa and the S. of Europe, a shrub belonging to the natural order Rhamnex. The fruit of the Diospyrus Lotus, or date plum, is the European lote. The name lotus was also given to several beautiful species of water lily, especially to the blue water lily (Nymphæa cærulea) and the Egyptian water lily (N. lotus), which grow in stagnant and slowly running water in the S. of Asia and N. of Africa. The Nymphæa lotus grows in the Nile and adjacent rivulets, and has a large white flower. It frequently appears in the hieroglyphs, where it represents the Upper Country of southern Egypt, and entered largely into works of art the capitals of columns, prows of boats, heads of staves, and other objects being fashioned in its shape. In the mythology of the Hindus and Chinese, the lotus which plays a distinguished part is the Nelumbo.