Unlike water lilies, the lotus holds its leaves and flowers high above a pond’s surface. Still, each lotus is amply prepared to fend off a drenching. The waxy surface of the leaves helps repel water chemically. But very tiny surface bumps also afford each leaf physical protection. The closely spaced bumps are far smaller than the width of most water droplets. Together, these bumps hold water droplets above a leaf’s surface, so that raindrops just bead up on top of them. You might picture this as something like a person resting on a bed of tightly spaced nails.