According to old almanacs, today’s plant of the day is the Egyptian water lily. 10 things you didn’t know about water lilies:
There are about 70 species of water lily and they belong to the genus Nymphaeaceae.
Water lilies which grow in tropical regions have brightly coloured flowers including Pink, Red, Orange, Yellow, Purple, and Blue. The ones you might see in gardens in the UK are the hardier varieties which have White flowers. The colour of the leaves varies too, from deep Green to burgundy, depending on the species.
These plants are found in ponds, lakes, and the edges of slow-moving streams. The Flowers and pads provide shade, keeping the Water cooler and preventing algae that thrive in heat from growing in excess. Water lilies also shelter Fish from predatory Birds and the heat of the sun.
The world’s largest water lily is the Victoria boliviana. Its leaves grow to nearly 10 feet (3 meters) wide in the wild. The largest specimen of the species is in La Rinconada Gardens in Bolivia, with leaves of up to 10.5 feet (3.2 meters) wide.
The smallest species of water lily is the Nymphaea thermarum, or thermal lily. Its pads are 0.3 to 0.6 inches (7.6 to 15 mm) across. Botanists believe the thermal lily is extinct in the wild. Its only known natural habitat was a single thermal pool in Mashyuxa, Rwanda, but a change in conditions in the pool due to agricultural use have made the pool uninhabitable for the plant. However, Spanish horticulturalist Carlos Magdalena was able to save the lily from extinction by successfully germinating stored seeds at Kew Gardens in 2009.
The water lily is the birth flower for people born in July. The flowers bloom from May to September and open in the morning and close mid to late afternoon. Each flower lasts for about four days before sinking under the water to decompose.
In Buddhism and Hinduism the water lily symbolises resurrection, because the flowers close up at night and reopen in the morning. Buddhists also believe that the water lily represents enlightenment because a beautiful bloom emerges from dark mud. To the Mayans, they were a sign that their water source was clean and thus water lilies were adopted as a symbol by the elite. Ancient Egyptians associated the blue water lily with the sun god and it was often depicted in art.
The water lily is the national flower of Iran, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The Emblem of Bangladesh includes a lily floating on water. Lily pads, often coloured red, appear on the flag of Friesland and the coat of arms of Denmark.
The impressionist painter Claude Monet often used water lilies as a subject. In fact, he painted more than 250 pictures of them.
Some species have edible roots which feature in traditional cuisines. Some species’ flowers emit a strong and intoxicating aroma.
The first in a new series! It has invading aliens, gladiator-style contests, rivalry and romance.
The six richest people in Britain decide to hold a contest to settle the question of which of them is most successful. It will be a gladiator style contest with each entrant fielding a team of ten super-powered combatants. Entrepreneur Llew Powell sets out to put together his team, which includes his former lover, an employee of his company with a fascinating hobby, two refugees from another dimension (a lonely giant and a drunken sailor), two sisters bound together by a promise, a diminutive doctor, a former Tibetan monk initiate and two androids with a history. As the team train together, alliances form, friendships and more develop, while others find the past is not easy to leave behind.
Meanwhile, a ruthless race of aliens has its eyes on the Earth. Already abducting and enslaving humans, they work towards the final invasion which would destroy life on Earth as we know it. Powell’s group, Combat Team Alpha, stumble upon one of the wormholes the aliens use to travel to Earth and witness for themselves the horrors in store if the aliens aren’t stopped. Barely escaping with their lives, they realise there are more important things to worry about than a fighting competition.
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