Sacred lotus

The sacred flower that rises clean from the mud

The lotus grows in muddy water, but its leaf never gets dirty — water drops roll off it like beads and carry the dust away! Scientists copied this 'lotus effect' to make self-cleaning paint. A lotus flower heats itself — even on a cold night it stays at 35 °C. Its seed can lie for 1,000 years and then sprout!

The sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is an aquatic plant of Asia and Australia; the national flower of India and Vietnam and a symbol of purity in Buddhism and Hinduism. The 'lotus effect': the leaf's waxy surface with micro- and nano-bumps is superhydrophobic (a drop forms a 160° angle), and drops wash the dirt away; studied in the 1990s, it inspired self-cleaning paints and fabrics (biomimicry). Thermoregulation: while blooming it keeps 30–35 °C even in 10 °C air — to attract beetle pollinators. Its seeds are among the longest-lived: a 1,300-year-old seed germinated (China, 1994). The rhizome and seeds are dishes in Asian cuisine. Often confused with water lilies (Nymphaea) — lotus leaves and flowers rise 1 m above the water.

Fun facts

• A 1,300-year-old lotus seed germinated — a plant record.
• A lotus leaf never gets wet — self-cleaning paint was invented from it.
• A lotus flower warms itself to 35 °C — a warm-blooded flower!