Ever since men began to interest themselves in Egyptian art, this has found an important place in their speculations. In the two forms which alternate with one another at Thebes, many have seen faithful transcriptions of two plants which filled a large space in Egyptian civilization by their decorative qualities and the practical services which they rendered; we mean, of course, the lotus and the papyrus. There were in Egypt many species belonging to the family of the _Nymphæaceæ_, a family which is represented in our northern climates by the yellow and white nenuphars or water-lilies. Besides these Egypt possessed, and still possesses, the white lotus (_Nymphæa lotus_ of Linnæus), and the blue lotus (_Nymphæa cærulea_ of Savigny); but the true Egyptian lotus, the red lotus (the _Nymphæa nelumbo_ of Linnæus, the _Nelumbium speciosum_ of Wild) exists no longer in a wild state, either in Egypt or any other known part of Africa (Fig. 97). The accurate descriptions given by the ancient writers have enabled botanists, however, to recognize it among the flora of India. It is at least one third larger than our common water-lily, from which it differs also in the behaviour of its leaves and of the stems which bear the flowers. These do not float on the surface of the water but rise above it to a height of from twelve to fifteen inches.[108] The flower, which stands higher than the leaves, is borne upon a stalk which instead of being soft and pliant like that of the water-lily has the firmness and consistency of wood. It has an agreeable smell like that of anise. In the bas-reliefs the ancient Egyptians are often seen holding it to their nostrils. The fruit, which is shaped like the rose of a watering-pot, contains seeds as large as the stone of an olive. [108] These upstanding flowers and stalks form the distinguishing characteristic of the Nelumbo species. These seeds, which were eaten either green or dried,[109] were called _Egyptian beans_ by the Greek and Latin writers because they were consumed in such vast quantities in the Nile valley.[110] The seeds of the other kinds of nymphæaceæ, which were smaller (Herodotus compares them with those of a poppy), gave, when pounded in a mortar, a flour of which a kind of bread was made. Even the root was not wasted; according to the old historians, it had a sweet and agreeable taste.[111] [109] HERODOTUS, ii. 92. [110] For the different species of the lotus and their characteristics see _Description de l'Égypte_, _Hist. Naturelle_, vol. ii. pp. 303-313 and _Atlas_, plates 60 and 61.--In the _Recueil de Travaux_, etc., vol. i. p. 190, there is a note by M. VICTOR LORET upon the Egyptian names for the lotus. [111] STRABO, xvii. 1, 15.--DIODORUS, i. 34.