Everything about Nelumbo Nucifera totally explained
Nelumbo nucifera is known by a number of common names, including
blue lotus,
Indian lotus,
sacred lotus,
bean of India, and
sacred water-lily. Botanically,
Nelumbo nucifera (Gaertn.) may also be referred to by its
former names,
Nelumbium speciosum (Wild.) or
Nymphaea nelumbo. This plant is an aquatic perennial, but if its seeds are preserved under favorable circumstances, they may remain viable for many years.
In
Ancient Egypt,
Nelumbo nucifera was unknown, being introduced only at the time of the
Persian invasions, late in ancient Egyptian history. The ancient Egyptians venerated the blue water-lily,
Nymphaea caerulea, which was sometimes known as the "blue lotus" or "sacred lotus".
N. nucifera was native to a huge area from modern Vietnam to Afghanistan, being spread widely as an ornamental and food plant. In 1787 it was first brought into horticulture in Western Europe as a stove-house water-lily under the patronage of
Joseph Banks and can be seen in
botanical garden collections where heating is provided. Today it's rare or extinct in the wild in Africa but widely naturalized in southern
Asia and
Australia, where it's commonly cultivated in
water gardens. It is the
National Flower of India and Vietnam.
Classification
Plant taxonomy systems agree that this flower is in the
Nelumbo genus, but disagree as to which family
Nelumbo is in, or whether it should be part of its own unique family and order tree.
Botany
The roots of
Nelumbo nucifera are planted in the soil of the pond or river bottom, while the leaves float on top of the water surface. The flowers are usually found on thick stems rising several centimeters above the water. The plant normally grows up to a height of about 150 cm and a horizontal spread of up to 3 meters, but some unverified reports place the height as high as over 5 meters. The leaves may be as large as 60 cm in diameter, while the showy flowers can be up to 20 cm in diameter.
There are a number of different
cultivars, the flower colours varying from snow white to yellow to a light pink. It is hardy to
USDA Zone 5. The plant can be propagated from seeds or
rhizomes. One of the oldest seeds that have yet been germinated into a
viable plant was an approximately 1,300-year-old lotus fruit, recovered from a dry lakebed in northeastern
China.
Researchers report that the lotus has the remarkable ability to regulate the
temperature of its
flowers to within a narrow range just as humans and other
warmblooded animals do. Dr. Roger S. Seymour and Dr. Paul Schultze-Motel, physiologists at the
University of Adelaide in
Australia, found that lotus flowers blooming in the
Adelaide Botanic Gardens maintained a temperature of 86 to 95 degrees
Fahrenheit, even when the air temperature dropped to 50 degrees. They suspect the flowers may be turning up the heat for the benefit of their
coldblooded insect pollinators. The study, published in the journal Nature, is the latest discovery in the esoteric field of heat-producing plants. Only two other species have so far been found to be able to regulate their temperature, both in the arum-lily family: the
skunk cabbage and a
Philodendron known as elephant ear.
Uses
The flowers, seeds, young leaves, and "roots" (
rhizomes) are all edible. In Asia, the petals are sometimes used for garnish, while the large leaves are used as a wrap for food. The
rhizome (called
ǒu in pinyin
Chinese,
ngau in Cantonese,
bhe in some parts of India and Pakistan, and
renkon (レンコン,蓮根
(External Link
)） in
Japanese) are used as a vegetable in soups and stir-fried dishes. Petals, leaves, and rhizome can also all be eaten raw, but there's a risk of parasite transmission (for example
Fasciolopsis buski): it's therefore recommended that they're cooked before eating.
Chinese people have long known that Lotus roots are a very healthy food and have been using them in this way for many centuries. Recent studies confirm this - Lotus roots were found to be rich in dietary fiber, vitamin C, potassium, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, phosphorus, copper, and manganese while very low in saturated fat.
The
stamens can be dried and made into a fragrant
herbal tea called
liánhuā cha in Chinese, or (particularly in
Vietnam) used to impart a scent to
tea leaves. The
lotus seeds or nuts (called
liánzĭ, 蓮子; or
xian liánzĭ, 鲜莲子, in Chinese) are quite versatile, and can be eaten raw or dried and popped like
popcorn. They can also be boiled down until soft and made into a paste, or boiled with dried
longans and rock sugar to made a
tong sui (sweet soup). Combined with sugar,
lotus seed paste becomes one of the most common ingredient used in pastries such as
mooncakes,
daifuku, and
rice flour pudding.
Various parts of the
sacred lotus are also used in traditional Asian
herbal medicine. Lotus seeds called
Phool Mukhana is also used in Indian cooking.
The distinctive dried seed heads, which resemble the spouts of
watering cans
photo are widely sold throughout the world for decorative purposes and for dried
flower arranging.
Cultural Significance
Hindus associate the lotus (
Padma) blossom with
creation mythology, and with the gods
Vishnu,
Brahma, and the goddesses
Lakshmi and
Sarasvati. From ancient times the lotus has been a divine symbol in Hindu tradition. It is often used as an example of divine beauty, for example Vishnu is often described as the 'Lotus-Eyed One'. Its unfolding petals suggest the expansion of the soul. The growth of its pure beauty from the mud of its origin holds a benign spiritual promise. Particularly Brahma and Lakshmi, the divinities of potence and wealth, have the lotus symbol associated
with them. In
Hindu iconography, deities often are depicted with lotus flowers as their seats. In
Hindi it's called
कमल (Kamal) which is also a popular name for men, the female form is Kamala.
The lotus flower is quoted extensively within
Puranic and
Vedic literature, for example:
One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.
Bhagavad Gita 5.10
Borrowing from Hinduism, in
Buddhist symbolism, the lotus represents purity of body, speech, and mind, floating above the muddy waters of attachment and desire. The
Buddha is often depicted sitting on a giant lotus leaf or blossom. According to legend, he was born with the ability to walk and everywhere he stepped, lotus flowers bloomed.
Drawing in turn on these Hindu and Buddhist beliefs, the international
Bahá'í community adopted this symbolism in the design of the
Lotus Temple in
New Delhi, India.
The Chinese also revere the sacred lotus as a symbol of purity and elegance, and it's a common motif in ancient Chinese poetry. A famous statement about the lotus' symbolism in Chinese culture is made by
Confucian scholar
Zhou Dunyi:
I love the lotus because, while growing from mud, it's unstained.
Gallery
Image:Indian Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) leaf I2 IMG 6266.jpg|Leaf with water drops after rain in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Image:Nelumbo_nucifera_nucifea0.jpg|A blossom in formation
Image:Nelumbo_nucifera3.jpg|Budding blossom
Image:Lotus_Nelumbo_nucifera_Blossom_1800px.jpg|An opening blossom
Image:Lotus_Nelumbo_nucifera_Flower_Close_2048px.jpg|Fully opened flower
Image:Nelumbo_nucifera_nucifera2.jpg|Seed head without petals
Image:Lotus_Nelumbo_nucifera_Seed_Head_Water_1800px.jpg|Another Seed head without petals
Image:Lotus Nelumbo nucifera Seed Head 2500px.jpg|More developed seed head
Image:Lotus Nelumbo nucifera Blossoms 3264px.jpg|A dried seed head and a new blossom
Image:Lotus005.jpg |Lotus field at the Echo Park Lake, with the L.A. skyline in the background.
Image:Bikolnon-1157910121.jpg | A bee hovers over a lotus flower.
Image:Bikolnon-1157814879.jpg |The golden-colored core of a lotus bloom is a seed pod.
Image:Lotus_seed_pod.jpg |A dried-out and a mature lotus seed pods.
Further Information
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