Symbolism of plants: examples from European-Mediterranean culture presented with biology and history of art: APRIL: Iris

On hot summer days we like to see our ponds and small eutrophic lakes covered with the white, pink or yellow flowers of water lilies. Everybody knows how Claude Monet became so fascinated by his 'nympheas' that he painted them in all situations, but the Nymphaeaceae have played a role in symbolism for over 4000 years. Even more important in Asian culture, particularly in Buddhism, has been the Indian lotus, Nelumbo nucifera (Nelumbonaceae). In literature and mythology, the term lotus (in Greek lotos) has been used to cover both families, relating the high symbolic and cultural importance of the lotus in great parts of the world.