"Lotus Flower" and "Lotus Blossom" redirect here. For other uses, see Lotus Flower (disambiguation) and Lotus Blossom (disambiguation).
Nelumbo nucifera
Lotus flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
Clade:
Tracheophytes
Clade:
Angiosperms
Clade:
Eudicots
Order:
Proteales
Family:
Nelumbonaceae
Genus:
Nelumbo
Species:
N. nucifera
Binomial name
Nelumbo nucifera
Gaertn.
Synonyms
Nelumbium speciosum Willd.
Nelumbo komarovii Grossh.
Nymphaea nelumbo
British 19th century, East Indian Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), late 19th century, National Gallery of Art, NGA 52325
Nelumbo nucifera, also known as sacred lotus, Indian lotus,[1] or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often refers to members of the family Nymphaeaceae.[2]
Lotus plants are adapted to grow in the flood plains of slow-moving rivers and delta areas. Stands of lotus drop hundreds of thousands of seeds every year to the bottom of the pond. While some sprout immediately and most are eaten by wildlife, the remaining seeds can remain dormant for an extensive period of time as the pond silts in and dries out. During flood conditions, sediments containing these seeds are broken open, and the dormant seeds rehydrate and begin a new lotus colony.
Under favorable circumstances, the seeds of this aquatic perennial may remain viable for many years, with the oldest recorded lotus germination being from seeds 1,300 years old recovered from a dry lakebed in northeastern China.[3] Therefore, the Chinese regard the plant as a symbol of longevity.
It has a very wide native distribution, ranging from central and northern India (at altitudes up to 1,400 m or 4,600 ft in the southern Himalayas[4]), through northern Indochina and East Asia (north to the Amur region; the Russian populations have sometimes been referred to as "Nelumbo komarovii"), with isolated locations at the Caspian Sea.[5] Today, the species also occurs in southern India, Sri Lanka, virtually all of Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and northern and eastern Australia, but this is probably the result of human translocations.[5] It has a very long history (c. 3,000 years) of being cultivated for its edible seeds[5] and is commonly cultivated in water gardens.[4] It is the national flower of India and Vietnam.
^"Sacred Lotus". Encyclopædia Britannica. 4 May 2023.
^Janice Glimn-Lacy, Peter B. Kaufman, Botany Illustrated: Introduction to Plants, Major Groups, Flowering Plant Families, p. 79, 2006, Springer, google books
^Shen-Miller, J.; Schopf, J. W.; Harbottle, G.; Cao, R.-j.; Ouyang, S.; Zhou, K.-s.; Southon, J. R.; Liu, G.-h. (2002). "Long-living lotus: Germination and soil -irradiation of centuries-old fruits, and cultivation, growth, and phenotypic abnormalities of offspring". American Journal of Botany. 89 (2): 236–47. doi:10.3732/ajb.89.2.236. PMID 21669732.
^ abPulok K. Mukherjee; Debajyoti Mukherjee; Amal K. Maji; S. Rai; Michael Heinrich (2010). "The sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)– phytochemical and therapeutic profile". Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. 61 (4): 407–422. doi:10.1211/jpp.61.04.0001. PMID 19298686. S2CID 85342386.
Nelumbonucifera, also known as sacred lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae...
("water lilies"), but Nelumbo is actually very distant from that family. There are only two known living species of lotus: Nelumbonucifera, which is native...
Nelumbo lutea is a species of flowering plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. Common names include American lotus, yellow lotus, water-chinquapin, and volée...
November 5, 2022 – via International Palm Society. "National Flower – Nelumbonucifera" (PDF). ENVIS Resource Partner on Biodiversity. Retrieved February...
seed or lotus nut is the seed of plants in the genus Nelumbo, particularly the species Nelumbonucifera. The seeds are used in Asian cuisine and traditional...
identifies various plant taxa: Nelumbo, a genus of aquatic plants with showy flowers Nelumbonucifera, the Sacred or Indian lotus Nelumbo lutea, the American or...
natans), Chinese water chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis), Indian lotus (Nelumbonucifera), water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica), prickly waterlily (Euryale ferox)...
green tea produced in Vietnam that has been flavored with the scent of Nelumbonucifera. It is a specialty product of the Vietnamese tea industry and is consumed...
69 genera and 42 families. The lake is noted in particular for its Nelumbonucifera (lotus flowers) which bloom in July and August. The prolific growth...
or rachapruek. The national flower of Vietnam is the lotus flower (Nelumbonucifera). Andorra– Narcissus poeticus[citation needed] The national flower...
may have inferred the edible roots of both Colocasia esculenta and Nelumbonucifera. The species Colocasia esculenta is invasive in wetlands along the...
Sacred lotus may refer to: Nelumbonucifera, also known as "Indian lotus" Padma (attribute), Nelumbonucifera in Indian religions Lotus throne in Buddhist...
"I in the jewel-lotus". Padma is the Sanskrit for the Indian lotus (Nelumbonucifera) and mani for "jewel", as in a type of spiritual "jewel" widely referred...
aquatic flowering plants. Nelumbo is the sole extant genus, containing Nelumbo lutea, native to North America, and Nelumbonucifera, widespread in Asia. At...
seed recorded is the carbon-14-dated 1,300-year-old sacred lotus (Nelumbonucifera), recovered from a dry lake bed in northeastern China in 1995. In December...
to Nelumbonucifera the Sacred Lotus, with Nymphaea in the Nymphales, one of the oldest and most basal linegages of flowering plants and with Nelumbo in...
desire and confidence. Svadhisthana is illustrated as a white lotus (Nelumbonucifera). It has six vermilion-colored petals inscribed with syllables: बं...
The lotus, Nelumbonucifera, is an aquatic plant that plays a central role in the art of Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism...
precise form varies, but is intended to represent the opening flower of Nelumbonucifera, the Indian lotus. In the traditional biographies lotus flowers sprung...
Nuciferine is an alkaloid found within the plants Nymphaea caerulea and Nelumbonucifera. Preliminary psychopharmacological research in 1978 was unable to conclusively...
famous flower held sacred in Indian and Tibetan religions, the lotus, Nelumbonucifera) and the lotus growing in several of her garden's ponds. She devoted...
heterotropioides, Galium divaricatum (stem and vine), Annona squamosa, and Nelumbonucifera (lotus seeds). Higenamine is found as an ingredient in sports and weight...
Rajib, Rajeeb, Rajiva and Rajiba. It is said that the lotus flower (Nelumbonucifera), though it grows in muddy water, doesn't accumulate the mud particles...
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