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Saturday, June 30, 2012

Lotus!

A day trip out to Mackay Island Wildlife Refuge the other day yielded some beautiful photo ops!  The first came as we were approaching the refuge - I could have stopped right there and my day would have been complete.



From Wikipedia:  Nelumbo nucifera, known by a number of names including Indian LotusSacred LotusBean of India, or simply Lotus, is a plant in the monotypicfamily Nelumbonaceae.   This plant is an aquatic perennial. Under favorable circumstances its seeds may remain viable for many years, with the oldest recorded lotus germination being from that of seeds 1,300 years old recovered from a dry lakebed in northeasternChina.[1]
A common misconception is referring to the lotus as a waterlily (Nymphaea), an entirely different plant as can be seen from the center of the flower, which clearly lacks the structure that goes on to form the distinctive circular seed pod in the Nelumbo nucifera.
Native to Tropical Asian nations and QueenslandAustralia,[2][3] it is commonly cultivated in water gardens. It is also the national flower of India and Vietnam.









I loved the little centers - they looked like watering cans!  This was a most beautiful plant!




Linking to Floral Friday FotosSOOC and Your Sunday Best.


20 comments:

momto8 said...

your pictures are just beautiful. what an amazingly beautiful flower. thanks for the info too!!

Unknown said...

a delightful flower. love the soft pink shade...your photo of the bud is exquisite. great shots.

Seeing Each Day said...

All such lovely photos - particularly enjoyed your 4th & 6th capture even more.

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Lovely flower- so fragil looking.

Brian King said...

Gorgeous photos, Linda!

joy said...

Oh, these flowers are so lovely. God's creation. Thankd for sharing this. And to think about that they can surpass generation after generation. Awesome! Thanks also for visiting my site I am sure that our paths will cross again. see you around and bless you!

Tamar SB said...

One of my favorite flowers! I agree, too, they look like watering cans!

carol l mckenna said...

Beautiful shots of one of my favorite flowers ~ Awesome! ~ thanks,^_^ (A Creative Harbor)

eileeninmd said...

Beautiful lotus blooms. They are gorgeous. Great shots.

Rajesh said...

Very pretty flower.

EG CameraGirl said...

Lovely! The lotus is absolutely a lovely blossom!

Nancy said...

Loving the centers too, Linda. How amazing. Your macros are beautiful.

Thank you for sharing at YSB this week. xoxo

Honey at 2805 said...

Lovely lotus blossom!

Karen said...

So delicate looking. Fabulous shots!

Unknown said...

Hi Linda, we call this in the Philippines water lily and we used to play with them. It is very pretty one of the flowers that I love take a lot of photos. Great captures you have.
Mary,MI

Anonymous said...

What a unique flower! I've never seen a center like that. I've only been to Mackay Island Refuge in winter, when a sea of white migrating birds is in residence. We must go when it is warm!

Deborah said...

your lotus shots are phenomenal!

Didin Supriatna said...

beauty flower,, nice shoot.. amazing.. dinsphotography.blogspot.com

Kranky Granny said...

All your shots are lovely. But, the last two have me going WOW!!!

Never seen anything like them. Those centers remind me of the bloom end of a yellow squash.

Melbourne Australia Photos said...

Delightful shots of these magnificent flowers, Linda. Thank you for your continuing participation in Floral Friday Fotos.