"Lotus rising from the water" is a riddle for a flower name, and the answer is the lotus.

"Lotus rising from the water" is a riddle for a flower name, and the answer is the lotus. The lotus is also known as the lianhua or water hibiscus, and "furong" (hibiscus) is in fact one of its ancient names. The words "rising from the water" in the riddle point to its habit of growing in water with its flowers and leaves held above the surface, so the match is very natural and apt.

The lotus is a perennial aquatic herb in the genus Nelumbo of the family Nelumbonaceae. Its common flower colors are pink and white, and its flower forms include both single and double types. The flowers are large and brightly colored, and they mostly bloom in summer. Its rhizome grows horizontally in the mud underwater, which is the lotus root that people commonly eat, and the lotus seeds produced after the flowers fade are also edible, so it is both ornamental and useful.

This riddle also often brings to mind the cotton rose (Hibiscus mutabilis). The cotton rose is a terrestrial plant in the family Malvaceae. Although it is also called "furong," it grows in soil on the banks and does not enter the water, so the riddle deliberately adds the words "rising from the water" to distinguish it, pointing precisely to the lotus that blooms in water.

In addition, "lotus rising from the water" is itself an idiom, describing poetry, writing, or a person as fresh and natural, like a lotus just blooming on the water's surface. Among flower varieties, there is also a famous cultivar named "Chushui Furong" among the lotus-petal orchids (Cymbidium faberi), whose flower posture is elegant and echoes this imagery. Whether you grow lotus in a pond or in a water vat in the courtyard, savoring the correspondence between the riddle and its answer while enjoying the view adds a special pleasure.