Local Beauty:The Cowen Lake American Lotus

A weekend trip to Cowen Lake was a voyage into a wonderland.  The lake has an amazing jungle of American Lotus flowers.  Kayaking through the leaves and blooms and the array of wildlife was a unique and exciting experience.  The height if the plants gives you the feeling that you may be in another wold, a world in which you are tiny and the plants loom large over your head.

The leaves of the lotus, which can be more than 2 or 3 feet across, repel water like quicksilver and have a delicate angel-shaped center.  They can be on the surface of the water or up to 3 feet about the water level.  The leaves are amazing, but the blooms are worth the drive to see!

The blooms to the lotus are a beautiful buttery yellow with am exotic seed pod in the center.  Even after the petals fall away the plant is a sight to see it is textured and organic and frankly out of this world.