The cleanliness of the Lotus

The Lotus plant is revered by Buddhists for its purity, at least in part because it stays clean even though it lives in muddy water. The plant uses a superhydrophobic surface to ensure that droplets of water roll off its leaves and carry with them particles from the dirty water. The waxy, bumpy surface can be seen using a scanning electron microscope (click here to view). This enables the leaves to float and to photosynthesise. The Lotus is one of the more spectacular plants and superhydrophobicity with self-cleaning is also called the Lotus-Effect® (trademark). Read more about the Lotus effect in the publication below.

Publication