LOTUS (Lat. lotus, from Gk. Xcer6s, a name given to several different plants). The 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 Zi.whus Lotus, a native of the north of Africa and the south of Europe, belonging to the natural order Rham nace:e. (See JUJUBE.) The fruit of the Diospy ros lotus, or date plum, was sometimes called the lotus. The name lotus was also given to several beautiful species of water-lily (q.v.), especially to the blue water-lily (Nymph(ra ca pensis), the Egyptian water-lily (Nymph(ra Lo tus), and to the nelumbo (Nelutabo speciosa) (q.v.), which grow in stagnant and slowly run ning water in the south of Asia and north of Africa. The A'ympha•i Lotus grows in the Nile and adjacent rivulets, and has a large white flower. The root is eaten by the people who live near Lake Menzaleh. It was the favorite flower of ancient Egypt, and is still often seen made into wreaths or garlands, placed on the fore heads of women or held in their hands, and smelled for its fragrance. It frequently appears in the hieroglyphs, where it represents the up per country or Southern Egypt, and entered largely into works of art. In mythology, it was the special emblem of Nefer Atum, the son of Ptah and Bast ; the god Harpocrates is seated upon it; and there was a mystical lotus of the sun. In the mythology of the Hindus and Chi
nese the Nelumbo Lotus plays a distinguished part, being called the sacred bean. The Hindu deities of the different sects are often represented seated on a throne of its shape, or on the ex panded flower. It symbolized the world; the merit, or residence of the gods; and female beauty. Among the Chinese the lotus had a simi lar reputation and poetic meaning, being espe cially connected with Fuh, or Buddha, and symbolizing female beauty, the small feet of their women being called kin Moen, or 'golden lilies.' lit the United States the name lotus is often applied to the yellow water-lily or water chinquapin (.Velunibo lutea). Lotus is also the generic name for a genus of leguminous plants, of which there are about SO species. They have leaves with three leaflets and red, yellow, or white flowers. One of the best known is bird's foot clover (Lotus corniculatus). It glows on light sandy soils where hardly any other plant will thrive and is much liked by stock. It is commonly grown in Europe and in the United States, especially at the South. In Europe Critis australis, the haekberry (q.v.), is called lotus. See Colored Plate of PLANTS.