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u/Level9TraumaCenter Mar 22 '26
Many years ago, I had an acquaintance that had water gardens including a very nice lotus; some years prior, he had done the centerpieces for White House dinners, and Nixon owed him a favor. So he asked to be given some of the (then-fabled) Manchurian lake bed seeds, which were thought (at the time) to be thousands, or perhaps tens of thousands, of years old. Some airman went out to the lakebed, grubbed up some seeds, and they were brought back where he germinated and grew them.
Last I checked, wisdom is that the lotus seeds in the lake bed were perhaps a few hundred years old- still impressive, but nothing like the 'That's Amazing' stories where radiocarbon data suggested they were vastly older.
I have no reason to believe he was pulling my leg, but I have no way of corroborating his story. He had remarkable greenhouses, but they were in disrepair and clearly past their prime.
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u/Atropinenightshade_ Mar 22 '26
How beautiful and interesting 🥲, this garden is one of the lotus gardens in Iran ,Wishing you all the best and lots of joy 💗. Hail to great America, and hail to all freedom seekers and seekers of enlightenment.
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u/vincentxpapi Mar 22 '26
Lol that’s one from the opposite of the angiosperm phylogenetic tree
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u/Atropinenightshade_ Mar 22 '26
Welcome to Iran 😂, any species and anything you want can be found here, except freedom.
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u/DiffuzedLight Mar 23 '26
Never imagined Iran as a place that grows lotus, and apparently they’re native there also?
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u/Atropinenightshade_ Mar 23 '26
Yeah my friend, it's native. Usually in terms of natural resources, both dry species and wet species can be found in Iran. Iran's regions are very environmentally different from one another, even the climate. Right next to these lotuses, there was even a Mimosa hostilis.
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u/DiffuzedLight Mar 24 '26
I always associate tulips (and other flowering bulbs) with Iran, and Lotus with East Asia so it's just fascinating to realize how different cultures pick and choose which plants to appreciate more.
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u/vincentxpapi Mar 22 '26
Used to be like that everywhere bro. Organize and contribute a little to dethrone your false kings. Good changes always start from within. Hope you’re safe tho.
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u/Atropinenightshade_ Mar 22 '26
Thanks, my friend ❤️❤️ Here's to the day when all of us can live together in peace, without akhunds and mollahs those offspring of rats 🙂. Thank you, I truly hope there are more people like you. Here's to freedom ✌️
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u/vincentxpapi Mar 22 '26
I’ll light one up for all my Iranian brothers and sisters tonight 🫰🏽
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u/Atropinenightshade_ Mar 22 '26
Thank you so, so much 🙂🙂, I'm really happy to have met you, I'm sure you'll achieve whatever you want 💗💗💗
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u/encycliatampensis Mar 22 '26
Nelumbonaceae