Nile Lotus

The lotus flower is held sacred in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Egyptian religions. The Lotus so frequently depicted in Egyptian art is actually a variety of water lily which rises from muddy waters to blossom, making it a symbol of purity and resurrection. The Egyptian lotus is mildly narcotic and both the blue and white varieties were used in medicinal preparations.  In mathematics, the lotus hieroglyph symbolized the number one-thousand. In Egyptian mythology, the lotus was associated with the sun, because it bloomed by day, and closed by night. The lotus was even believed to have given birth to the sun. The lotus figures in a number of Egyptian creation stories.  It is particularly associated with the resurrected god Osiris.