261 
THE “LOTOS” OF THE ANCIENTS. 
they were at one time common. It by no means follows that 
the same plants will be found flourishing in the Nile now, that 
were common under the Pharaohs ; but, when the French 
invaded Egypt in 1798, Savigny brought home from the Delta 
a blue Nymphcea , which was figured in the “Annales du 
3Iuseum,” corresponding very closely in habit to the conven- 
tional Lotos so common on the Egyptian monuments. 
It seems to be very probable that the Lotos-flower in the 
hands of the guests at Egyptian banquets, and those presented 
as offerings to the deities, were fragrant. The manner in 
which they are held strengthens this probability, as there, is 
no other reason why they should be brought into such close 
proximity with the nose. Our figure of a flower of the blue 
Nymphcea (A 7 , ccerulea ), from Savigny, should be compared in 
habit, narrow acute petals, &c., with the Lotos of the monu- 
ments. (PI. LXXIV., fig. 1). 
The white Lotos is evidently Nymphcea Lotus , L., which is 
common to the floras of India and Egypt. Like others of the 
order, it has a tendency to variation to such an extent that 
numbers of its forms have received specific names ; but these 
are united by Dr. Hooker under the above name. The red 
Lotus is. a coloured variety of the same plant. Andrews recog- 
' nised it as a distinct species allied to N. Lotus , but specifically 
distinct in the colour of the flowers. Roxburgh declares that 
the difference between them is in the colour of the flowers 
only. It is now generally admitted that the colour of the 
flowers is insufficient, of itself, to constitute a specific differ- 
ence, and the red Lotus, or Nymphcea rubra , becomes merely 
the red-flowered Nymphcea Lotus , L. (PI. LXXIV., fig. 2.) 
As to the blue Lotus, it is our opinion that it must be 
referred to Nymphcea stellata , Willd., as accepted by Hooker 
and Thomson in “ Flora Indica.” Of this species the N. cyanea 
of Roxburgh and the A r . ccerulea of Savigny are varieties. It 
is stated in the work just cited that the authors had long enter- 
tained the belief that “ the blue water-lily of the Nile and India 
are (like their white congener Lotus ) specifically the same. 
The most prominent difference we find between them is the 
sweet scent of the African plant, whether wild or cultivated, 
and its usually more numerous petals and stamina.” It is the 
fragrant blue Lotus of the Nile that seems to be represented 
so freely on the monuments, whether it be called Nymphcea 
ccerulea or N. stellata. And it is the white Lotus ( Nymphcea 
Lotus') alluded to by the majority of ancient authors. The 
seeds and roots of both species are commonly eaten by the 
natives of India. 
There is still a third Lotus, briefly mentioned by Dioscorides, 
Theocritus, and Homer, which may be some species of Medi- 
vol. x. — NO. XL. T 
