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INFUSE
RITUAL ✷ · SUBCATEGORY

Lotus Flowers.

Five lotuses, side by side. The two blue lotuses, the pink and the white lotus, the white and red water lilies — as whole flower, powder, resin and elixir. Two botanical families, and for each one, its exact name.

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The word

Lotus or water lily? Two families.

The word lotus travels across at least two plants that nothing connects. On one side the Nymphaea, the water lilies — the blue lotus rests its flower on the water. On the other the Nelumbo nucifera, the sacred pink and white lotus, which lifts its flower above the water and belongs, botanically, to the plane tree more than to the water lily. Our five lotuses fall into these two families.

Two blue lotuses first, both from Sri Lanka: the Authentic one, the one we hold to be the true blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea), as flower and as elixir; and the everyday Blue Lotus — commonly called Nymphaea caerulea, in fact Nymphaea nouchali — the one everyone loves, as flower, powder and resin. Then the two sacred lotuses, pink and white, a single Nelumbo nucifera in two colors. And the two water lilies, the white (Nymphaea lotus) and the red (Nymphaea rubra). For each one, we say which plant it is.

Lotus or water lily? Two families.
The curation

The 5 treasures of the family.

⊹ WHY THIS FAMILY ⊹

Telling them apart, and preparing them.

What sets our lotuses apart begins with the flower and the form.

The blue lotuses are taken as an infusion — one flower, water just off the boil — and the Authentic one also comes as an elixir; the everyday one keeps as powder and resin.

The sacred lotuses, pink and white, are whole flowers to contemplate as much as to infuse; the pink also gives its stamens and its powder, the white its resin.

The water lilies, white and red, are two flowers of the water — two hues that answer each other.

Common questions

Lotus, in plain terms.

What is the difference between a lotus and a water lily?

Two distinct botanical families. Water lilies (Nymphaea) rest their flower on the water: the blue lotus is one of them. The sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), pink or white, lifts its flower above the water and belongs, botanically, to the plane tree rather than the water lily. The word "lotus" covers both.

What are INFUSE's five lotuses, and which is which?

Two blue lotuses from Sri Lanka — the Authentic one (Nymphaea caerulea) and the everyday one (Nymphaea nouchali, often called caerulea); the pink lotus and the white lotus, a single Nelumbo nucifera in two colors; and two water lilies, the white (Nymphaea lotus) and the red (Nymphaea rubra).

In what forms does INFUSE offer lotus?

As a whole dried flower, to infuse or to contemplate; as powder and extract resin for the everyday blue lotus; as stamens and powder for the pink lotus; as resin for the white lotus; and as an elixir for the Authentic blue lotus.

How do you prepare a lotus flower as an infusion?

One flower in a cup, water just off the boil poured over it, a few minutes to steep. The Egyptian tradition also steeped blue lotus in wine. The elixir is taken as drops.

How do you recognize a true blue lotus?

In 2023, an analysis (Dosoky) compared eleven commercial extracts sold as blue lotus to authentic extracts: not one resembled them. This is why we name the species of each of our lotuses.

Where do INFUSE's lotuses come from?

Our five lotuses all come from Sri Lanka, where the blue water lily (nil mānel) is the national flower: the two blue lotuses, the sacred pink and white lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) and the white and red water lilies.

Is blue lotus freely sold?

Freely sold in France. Check the legislation in your country.