Nelumbo nucifera

Nelumbo nucifera
	Nelumbo nucifera flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Phylum:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Proteales
Family:	Nelumbonaceae
Genus:	Nelumbo
Species:	N. nucifera
Binomial name
	Nelumbo nucifera; Gaertn.

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 Sir Joseph Banks and can be seen in modern botanical garden collections where heating is provided. Today it is rare or extinct in the wild in Africa but widely naturalized in southern Asia and Australia, where it is commonly cultivated in water gardens. It is the National Flower of India.

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. The oldest seed that has yet been germinated into a viable plant was an approximately 1,300-year-old lotus fruit, recovered from a dry lakebed in northeastern China.^[1]

Uses

The flowers, seeds, young leaves and 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 (藕) in Chinese, is a common soup or stir-fry ingredient and is the part most commonly consumed. Petals, leaves, and rhizome can also all be eaten raw, but without being cooked, there is a risk of parasites transmission (e.g. Fasciolopsis buski), that is why it is recommended to cook them first before being consumed. Chinese people have long known that Lotus roots are a very healthy food and have been using it to promote health for many centuries, recent modern studies indeed confirmed this, as Lotus roots was founded to be rich in Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Potassium, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Phosphorus, Copper and Manganese while very low in Saturated Fat, and Cholesterol.

The stamens can be dried and made into a fragrant herbal tea called liánhuā cha (蓮花茶) 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.

Lotus roots (called bhe in some parts of India and Pakistan, and renkon in Japan) are used as a vegetable.

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.^[2]

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.

Religious symbolism

Hindus associate the lotus 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 Krishna, or Vishnu are 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. Particularily 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 is called कमल (Kamal) which is also a popular name for men.

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.