Blue Lotus

Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea, also written Nymphaea caerulea and known as blue lotus or blue water lily, is a water lily, a botanical variety of Nymphaea nouchali. It is an aquatic plant of freshwater lakes, pools and rivers, found naturally throughout most of the eastern half of Africa and parts of southern Arabia, and spread elsewhere as an ornamental. Its underwater rhizomes are edible. It features prominently in Egyptian mythology and art, where it symbolises the sun and rebirth, and it has been found in pharaohs' tombs. It may have been used for aphrodisiac and religious purposes, including in rituals such as Hathor's Festival of Drunkenness. The plant contains the psychoactive alkaloids nuciferine and apomorphine, but the article says its key active constituents and mechanisms are unknown, and that the ancient uses are suggested rather than proved. The plant has been used for perfumes since ancient times and in aromatherapy. The IUCN has not evaluated it; South Africa's national Red List treats it as of least concern.