Lotus and Lantana Camara (Flowers That Can Be Found In Indonesia Part 1)

Edelweiss from
Bromo Mountain, East Java,
 Indonesia used
 as ornament in living room

Do you like flowers? Almost the fans of flowers are women. If the man likes flowers, may he has little feminist insides them. Flowers make universe blooming. All the activities of human being use flowers. Special events surely use flowers. From sadness to happiness event, people use flowers. Funeral, party, weddings, worship, offerings, gifts, greetings, and all events in the world use flowers. As decoration and ornament in daily life, flowers are needed. In the large scale, some nation use flowers as identity, like cherry blossoms in Japan and Tulip in Netherlands. In Indonesia we can found a unique flowers called Rafflesia Arnoldi.

This flower be appointed by Indonesia government as Puspa Langka, mean as Rare Flowers.  It is big flowers. The smell is not good. The flowers only grow in thermal humid area and the environment must suitable. As tropical country, we can found thousand may million flowers species in Indonesia. It is biological wealth that belongs to this country. Because too many flowers, this article to be continued in other parts. For the first part, it will described two flowers that is Tembelekan Flower and Lotus Flower. 

Tembelekan Flowers

Tembelekan flower on the sidewalk

Tembelekan Flowers is known as Lantana Camara, in scientific naming. In local, it is called tembelekan, from Java language, means chicken droppings. This flowers are easy to grow. Even in the searing environment. It is also no need to care for the growth. It can grow in everywhere places.  In vacant land, we can found this flowers with grasses. It makes beautiful. 

According to forefather, this flower have many benefit. All of the parts of this flowers can be used as herbal medicine. From root, leaf and flower, used as medicine to reduce the heat and for anti-inflammatory.  Unfortunately, there is no modern medicine use this flowers as main ingredient. May someday herbal medicine more famous. 

Lotus Flowers

This flower very close with religion and faith. There are many symbol use lotus. Buddhist used lotus as symbol of spirit. It said that Lotus representative of beautiful, spirit, regeneration, fertility, resurrection, and others. Also Hinduism, China cultural and many use lotus. 

There are various color of lotus, that are red, pink, white, yellow, blue, and others. Lotus are including water plants. This flowers grow in calm water surface, usually in pool, swamp, and mud which having puddles. It’s spread in all tropical and subtropical country all of the world.

The unique of this flowers is they can grow even in dirty water. If the muddy water getting dirty, the color of lotus is stronger, it’s mesmerize. When we look below, we look dirty things, but when we look the flower, it is very beautiful. It is give a moral message, how bad our neighborhood, we must try to be good and kind person. Once I have interview person whose practice mediation regularly, what is the differences when he saw lotus comparing with others flowers. He said different, just different, better when he saw lotus. It made her feeling be comfortable, relax, and blossom. 

In Indonesian, Lotus known as bunga Seroja (Seroja flower) and bunga Teratai (Teratai flowers). May some people can’t distinguish between Seroja and Teratai, they said all of them is Lotus. When Teratai blossom, the flower is near with water and the leaf touch with surface water. Teratai is also called Lily water in English Language.  But the flowers of Seroja have steam of plants grow up and away from the surface of water, the color of Seroja usually white or pink. Seroja is known as Lotus or Padma (Padma in Sanskrit Language, mean flowers as sanctity symbol in Hinduism and Buddhist). All of the part of Lotus can be eaten. 

Here is a video of white Lotus I took in Bali several times ago. Enjoy with your heart, may be viewed differently. And the purple Lotus picture taken by my brother in Mendut Vihara, Magelang, Middle Java, Indonesia. In Magelang district, we can found Borobudur Temple, one of the wonders of the world.

Purple Lotus in Mendut Vihara

To Be Continued