Demise of LA lotuses proves to be mystery

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-30  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

  EMAIL STORY

  PRINTABLE VIEW

  BLOG STORY

  COPY HEADLINE AND URL

  SHARE

-- Adverstisement --


ONE of the most enduring images of summer in Los Angeles has all but vanished.

Only a smattering of sickly leaves remain of the lotuses that used to cover the lake in Echo Park, where the annual Lotus Festival is coming up in just two weeks.

Park officials are perplexed by the demise of the flowers, which bloomed abundantly in pink and cream for 80 years every summer until 2005.

"They're not going to be reappearing," said Thomas L. DeBoe, chairman of the Echo Park Advisory Board.

The lotuses are believed to be descendants of plants imported from China by evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson.

A city government report lists 13 possible causes, including poor water quality, unauthorized raids by residents, pests and disease.

The American city is planning a US$60-million overhaul of the lake and its plant beds in the summer of 2010.