# Plants as Symbols of Power in the Achaemenid Iconography of Ancient Persian Monuments
## 3 Results
### Recurring Patterns and Related Plants
Indeed, such representation arises from a combination of _Nymphaea's_ flower and _M. officinarum_ fruits, which as the whole form the blooming pomegranate (Figure 7f). A combination of single elements forming a different representation would become famous in [PERSON]'s style during the XVI century. The different species depicted are listed below along with a description of their taxonomical details, structure, chorology, ecology, recurrence, and diagnostic elements. Gymnospermae  
Cf. _Ephedra_ sp. Family: Ephedraceae. _Common name_: Ephedra. _Biological form_: Chamaephytes. _Chorology_: The genus has a wide distribution in dry regions in both the Eastern and Western hemispheres. _Ecology_: Dry habitats. _Part of plants_: Stem. _Occurrence_: Bouquets in the Apadana staircase offering scenes (Persepolis). _Diagnostic elements_: The identification is uncertain due to the lack of precise diagnostic elements, but the linear shape of the bouquets makes this plant, which was prominent in Ancient Persian tradition, a likely candidate. _Pinus brutia_ var. _eldarica_ (Medw.) Silba. _Common name_: Calabrian pine. _Family_: Pinaceae. _Biological form_: Phanerophytes. _Chorology_: The native range of this variety is Transcaucasia to NW Iran. _Ecology_: A drought-resistant tree that grows on dry rocky and stony slopes. _Part of plants_: Entire plants. _Occurrence_: Several trees on the Apadana staircase (Persepolis). _Diagnostic elements_: The genus _Pinus_ is detectable by the typical cones, long acicular leaves, and scaly, fissured, patterned bark (its pyramidal shape led to it being mistakenly interpreted as a cypress). The species identification is based on a consideration of its morphological characteristics and the biogeographical distribution of the plant. Angiospermae  
Dicotyledons  
Nymphaea lotus L. _Common name_: White Egyptian Lotus. _Family_: Nymphaeaceae. _Biological form_: Hydrohyptes. _Chorology_: Africa. _Ecology_: Flooded lands in the wet tropical biome. _Part of plant_: Flowers in different stages of blooming and formation of fruits. _Occurrence_: Very common. _Diagnostic elements_: The shape of the flower, with many petals forming a radiate system around the central reproductive part (formed by numerous yellow stamens and carpels), sometimes represented in the tetramerous initial stage (all _Nymphaea_ species have four sepals, 7-40 petals, 20-700 stamens, and 5-47 carpels). Some depictions show the fruits, culminating in a stigmatic disk resembling a large poppy capsule divided into equally spaced segments. Furthermore, on the top of the capitals, we can recognize a depiction of the carpel in its early stage of maturation and the formation of the stigmatic disk. We note that the Greeks first used the name 'lotus' in reference to a white waterlily (_N. lotus_), whereas [PERSON] [76] later used the same name for the blue waterlily (_N. nouchali_ var. _coerulea_) [77]. Both _Nymphaea_ species may be represented here, but we consider the first one to be the most relevant. Cf. _Myrtus communis_ L. _Common name_: Myrtle. _Family_: Myrtaceae. _Biological form_: Phanerophytes (shrub). _Chorology_: From Macaronesia to Pakistan. _Ecology_: Sunny places but with a certain humidity. Part of plant: Branches with leaves and fruits. _Occurrence_: Once, arranged in the form of a crown. _Diagnostic elements_: The shapes of the leaves, the long petioles of the fruits, and the elongated shapes of the berries (6-8 mm). The uses for crowns and other ceremonial uses appear widely in Mediterranean and European cultural traditions and mythology. Punica granatum L. _Common name_: Pomegranate. _Family_: Lythraceae. _Biological form_: Phanerophyte. _Chorology_: NE Turkey to NW Pakistan. _Ecology_: Arid or semiarid environmental areas and wide adaptability to different ecological conditions. _Part of plant_: Floral bud and fruits. _Occurrence_: Rare (apical of king's seper).