Abstract:
There is a Pungee Indian legend that tells why the Lotus, the lovely, exotic flower of the water lily family blooms so profusely on the Alligator River near the Albemarle Sound in eastern North Carolina. Although this flower of thick, waxen petals is a thing of beauty, deep in the center lies a seed so poisonous that it is fatal to those who eat it. This seed was once the cruel and callous heart of Lotus, a lovely but wanton Indian maid.