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Shaman Australis Ethnobotanicals (Nymphaea nouchali v caerulea - Blue Lotus - Seeds for sale, Plants for sale)
Nymphaea
nouchali var caerulea
Blue
Waterlily,
Egyptian Blue Lotus
Botanical information
Nymphaea nouchali is a clump forming perennial with spongy roots and
tuberous rhizomes that are anchored in pond orcreek mud. They do not have true
stems. The leaves are on up to 1.5m long petioles that arise directly from the
rhizome. The leaves are large and flat, rounded or oval in shape with notched
margins, up to 40 cm in diameter, and cleft almost to the centre where the petiole
is attached. They are relatively short lived and are replaced regularly throughout
the growing season.
The large, elegant blue flowers are held well above the water at the tip of
a sturdy green stalk and appear almost constantly from spring until the end
of summer (September to February). They are bisexual, star-like and regular
(actinomorphic), with 4 sepals, green on the outside and white to blue on the
inside, and many blue petals. The flowers open in early to mid-morning and close
completely in late afternoon and stay closed all night. The flowers are sweetly
fragrant and are visited constantly by bees who are the most likely pollinator.
The seed is small (1.2 x 0.8 mm) and ellipsoid, each surrounded by a membranous
aril which causes them to float for a while, allowing the seeds to disperse
from the parent plant, before it disintegrates and they sink under the water
onto the mud.
The easiest method of propagation is division. Plants may be left in place for
two years, but pot grown plants are best lifted, divided and planted in fresh
soil each year for good results. The plants are best lifted and divided just
before new growth commences in the spring (August). Pull or cut the fleshy roots
(rhizomes) apart and replant immediately in fresh soil mixture. Each new plant
should have at least one bud at the tip of the rhizome
The blue water lily may be grown from seed, but this requires patience, for
the plants take 3 to 4 years to flower. The seed can be sown in spring and during
summer (September-January). Finely sieved clean loam soil without any organic
matter or fertiliser is best. Seed should be sown thinly, covered lightly with
soil and then plunged into shallow water, no deeper than 2.5 cm, and placed
in a sunny position. Germination should take 3-4 weeks The seedlings will look
like fine grass at first, developing true leaves later. When the first two or
three floating leaves appear the seedling should be pricked out and planted
into individual containers and immersed back in the water. They may be submerged
into deeper water and larger containers as they grow and lengthen.
Information sourced from http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantnop/nymphnouch.htm
Traditional uses
Nymphaea nouchali has featured heavily in Egyptian history. The goddess Isis
is said to have pointed out that the rhizomes were edible. Pharaohs wre buried
with them and their pyramids adorned with images of them. There is also evidence,
in the form of a painting in a tomb dating back to 3000-2500 BCE, that nymphaeas
were deliberately cultivated in square, evenly spaced beds fed by canals. The
blooms were in great demand for religious festivals, offerings of the flowers
being made to the dead or to the gods, as well as for gifts to visiting noblemen
as a gesture of friendship and goodwill. Both Amenhotep IV and Ramses III (1225
BCE) are known to have had them growing in their palace gardens. It is commonly
assumed that this was purely for ornamental purposes, but given what we know
now about their psychoactivity, there may have been more to this. Many ancient
paintings depict the Sacred Blue Lotus in conjunction with wine symbols and
among the consumed items rather than the decorative items.
It has also long been cultivated by the Chinese and Japanese.
In modern times, the name lotus is used almost exclusively for Nelumbo nucifera.
Nelumbo nucifera is not a native of Egypt. It actually comes from south-east
Asia where it is often found near temples and is regarded as sacred in China
and Japan. It was introduced to the Nile by the Romans, probably for food. The
true Egyptian lotus is Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea (syn. N. caerulea) and
Nymphaea lotus. In in South Africa (c 1800), the rootstock of the blue water
lily was collected and eaten, either raw or in curries, in particular by the
Cape Malays and farming communities in the Cape.
For more info click here: http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/egypt_waterlily.html
Pharmacology
The story of the sacred Blue Lotus makes a mockery of modern science. It has
been known for several years now that this species is psychoactive to some degree,
but little concrete knowledge exists in the scientific arena and the psychoactive
effect is vigorously disputed by conservative scientists. So a couple of wiseguy
pharmacologists decided to make a name for themselves by researching the active
constituents and making a documentary about it. It is shown on the discovery
channel and other media, and once you've experienced the effects of Blue Lotus
you will understand just how ridiculous their research is. In years to come
it will be better suited for the comedy channel.
First they compared the Mass Spectrometer analysis of a mummy with that of some
Blue Lotus flowers with the result that they matched. This indicated that the
mummy had consumed Sacred Blue Lotus not long before his death. They also looked
for narcotics in the mummy and found none. The substances found were listed
as phosphodiastrates, bioflavonoids and phytosterols. The first is similar to
viagra, the second group is common in many fresh foods, and the last is similar
to the known active constituent of Ginko biloba. At no stage in the research
did they bother trying to consume a flower or an extract and this is where one
has to wonder what the purpose of science is if it only serves to prove the
absolute. The result of their expensive and drawn out study was that the "mild"
activity of sacred Blue Lotus is due to the phytosterols. It is obvious that
this conclusion can be dimissed as poor science, poor logic and above all poor
representation of the lily itself.
Blue Lotus was assumed to contain nuciferine (1,2-dimethoxy-aporphine) just
like Nelumbo nucifera, but this does not appear to be so according to the MS
data. Aporphine and Apomorphine (6a-beta-aporphine-10,11-diol) have also been
excluded.
Essentially this means that at this time no one knows what is causing the Blue
Sacred Lotus to be a potent narcotic and inebriant. All we know is that 2-4
flowers soaked in wine for 24 hours will give a noticable and very pleasant
synergy with the wine. Seed extracts and flower extracts can be consumed orally
with or without alcohol, while dried flowers are easily dosed by smoking. All
product forms will produce noticable effects. These can range from mild sedation
to a fairly strong narcotic state.
For articles written by some of the re-pioneers of Sacred Blue Lotus click these
links:
"Lily and Lotus"
"The Land of the Lotus smokers"
Click on Thumbnails to see full size/high resolution picture! (in new
window)
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N.nouchali v caerulea
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N.nouchali v caerulea
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N.nouchali v caerulea
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