Lake with water lilies in Baile Felix

Felix Baths resort is part of the Sanmartin commune with the northwestern County of Bihor, about 6 kilometers to the city of Oradea, Agerpres reports.

Located in the Crisurilor Plain at an altitude of about 150 meters, the resort has a moderate continental climate of lowlands, with mild winters and temperate summers with Mediterranean influence, according to the volume "Monograph of Bihor County", the "Counties of the Country" collection (Sport-Turism Publishing House, 1979).

Toning and healing, the thermal water protects and keeps alive for thousands of years the most representative species of local flora: the thermal water lily. The tender flower lives in the Peta Brook nature reserve, located at the foot of the Somleu Hill. Peta springs in the place called "the eye of the gypsy" and collects the water of several hot springs. On the richest of these was formed Lake Peta with an area of 4,100 square meters. With a temperature of 25-30 degrees Celsius, its waters are an optimal environment for the "Nymphaea Lotus Thermalis", the most miraculous manifestation of nature in the Peta reserve, writes the site of Sanmartin, https://sanmartin.ro/.

The thermal water lily found favorable conditions in the warm water and the mud of the lake, being a relictual species that survived from the tertiary period due to the microclimate created by the thermal water. The thermal lotus was accompanied during geological eras by a species of snail, and today it is declared a monument of nature. Also in Lake Peta, among the water lilies, can be seen the rudd of Racovita, an endemic subspecies of fish, which has adapted to temperatures of 30-34 degrees Celsius, notes the site https://sanmartin.ro/.

Here, in a microclimate unique in Europe due to the hot springs, there grow rare species of water lilies/lotus, such as the White Water Lily (Nymphaea Alba), the Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo Nucifera), the Thermal Water Lily (Nymphaea lotus var. Thermalis).

The white water lily (Nymphaea Alba) is a rare species in Romania. The white water lily prefers waters of relatively shallow depth, of about 30-150 centimeters. Its green leaves have a characteristic circular shape and can reach a diameter of 30 centimeters. Flowering begins in the first decade of June, according to the site https://www.lotustherm.ro/.

The Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo Nucifera) has similar flowers, but is distinguished by the shape of the leaf. The Sacred Lotus rises above the water, while the water lily floats on the water. Researchers in the field of biology have found that the lotus regulates the temperature of flowers, keeping it between 30-35 degrees Celsius when that of the environment drops to 10 degrees Celsius. Flowering occurs from April to October.

The thermal water lily (Nymphaea lotus var. Thermalis) is a species of water lily that lives only in the area of Baile 1 Mai, 2 km from Baile Felix. The species was discovered in 1789 by the botanist P. Kitaibel, and the name was received a little later, in 1908, when J. Tuzson gave it this name because it resembles the Nile water lily. Due to its uniqueness (it is the only area where this species occurs), Nymphaea lotus var. Thermalis was declared, since 1931, a monument of nature, following the approaches of professor Alexandru Borza. The decrease in the water level in Lake Peta determined actions to save the thermal water lily, which were completed in 2015 with the relocation of the first plants to the Nature Reserve "Lake with Water Lilies" in Baile Felix. They have adapted to the new environment and it is intended to populate an entire pool exclusively with this beautiful specimen. The thermal water lily appears on the water mirror from April to the end of October. The water lily flowers unfold their white-yellow petals in the twilight, and in the morning, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., when the water temperature goes up to 34 degrees Celsius, the flowers close in anticipation of the evening, says the site https://www.lotustherm.ro/.

The thermal water that houses Nymphaea lotus var. Thermalis is also favorable to snails of Melanopsis species, but also to tortoises and exotic fish, species that can live only in warm waters, notes the volume "Monograph of Bihor County", the "County of the Country", Sport-Turism Publishing House, 1979.

The most spectacular is the Lotus of India, with pink flowers that live only a few days and are later replaced by a wood capsule in which the seeds of the plant are stored.