The fondness, even reverence, that a diverse array of countries, cultures and religions harbor for the lotus traces all the way back to depictions etched out in hieroglyphics from ancient Egypt.
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Botany, as much as beauty, explains the enduring enchantment of the lotus. Cultivated in mud, the lotus emerges above the waterline over a three-day period before opening up to soak in sunlight from the morning till mid-afternoon.
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“I first came across the lotus while taking my children out on a boat in the Everglades,” remembers Geoffrey Smith. " Even with all the magnificent wildlife in the River of Grass to draw your eye, the lotus is impossible to miss- it's absolutely mesmerizing."
