C 797 ] 



Nympilea Lotus. ^Egyptian Water- 

 Lily, or Lotus. 



Clafs and Order* 



PoLYAN-DRIA MONOGYNIA. 



Generic CbaracJer, 



Cor. polypetala. Cal. 4- f. 5-phyllus. Bacca multilocularis, 

 loculis polyfpermis. 



Specific CbaracJer and Synonyms. 



NYMPHjEA Lotus ; foliis cordatis dentatis glaberrimis : 



lobis approximate, calyce tetraphyllo. Willd. 



Sp. PI. v. 2. p. 11 23. 

 NYMPHjEA Lotus ; foliis cordatis dentatis, Linn. Sp. PL 



729. Reich. 2. p. 579. Flor. Zeylan. 194. 



Haffelq. It. 471. Plant. Rar. Hung. v. 1. p. 13. 



/. 15. Bot. Repof. 391. 

 LOTUS jEgyptia. Alp. Mgyp. 103. Exot. 214. /. 213, 216, 



218, 220, 222, 226. 

 AMBEL, Hort. Malab. 11. ;>. 51. /. 26. 



There is no doubt but that the plant here figured is the true 

 ^Egyptian Lotus of the ancients, at lead when they fpeak of 

 the herb Lotus, but the tree Lotus has no fort of affinity with, 

 this, which was held in fuch great veneration by the ./Egyptians 

 and is frequently fecn rudely fculptured on their idols. The 

 fame reverence for this vegetable, an inhabitant of the Ganges 

 as well as of the Nile, pervades Hindoftan, Tibet, and Nepal ; 

 a native of the latter country, upon entering Sir William 

 Jones's ftudy, made proftrations before this plant, the flowers 

 of which happened to lie there for examination. 



That the ^Egyptians prepared a kind of bread from the 

 feed ana 1 likewife fed upon its tuberous roots, is fufficiently 



certain ; 



