Lotus. Nelumbo is a genus of aquatic plants with large, showy flowers.
Members are commonly called lotus, though lotus is a name also applied to various other plants and plant groups, including the unrelated genus Lotus. Members outwardly resemble those in the family Nymphaeaceae, but Nelumbo is actually very distant to Nymphaeaceae.
There are only two known living species of lotus; N. nucifera is native to Asia and is better-known. It is commonly cultivated; it is eaten and used in traditional Chinese medicine.
This species is the floral emblem of both India and Vietnam. The other lotus is Nelumbo lutea and is native to North America and the Caribbean.
Horticultural hybrids have been produced between these two allopatric species. There are several fossil species known from Cretaceous, Paleogene and Neogene aged strata throughout Eurasia and North America. Nelumbo lutea; American lotus. Nelumbo nucifera; sacred or Indian lotus, also known as the Rose of India and the sacred water lily of Hinduism and Buddhism. It is the national flower of India and Vietnam. Its roots and seeds are also used widely in Asian cooking. Nelumbo aureavallis; Eocene, described from leaves found in the Golden Valley Formation in North Dakota, USA. Nelumbo changchangensis Eocene, described from several fossils of leaves, seedpods, and rhizomes from the Eocene-aged strata in the Changchang Basin, of Hainan Is
Members are commonly called lotus, though lotus is a name also applied to various other plants and plant groups, including the unrelated genus Lotus. Members outwardly resemble those in the family Nymphaeaceae, but Nelumbo is actually very distant to Nymphaeaceae.
There are only two known living species of lotus; N. nucifera is native to Asia and is better-known. It is commonly cultivated; it is eaten and used in traditional Chinese medicine.
This species is the floral emblem of both India and Vietnam. The other lotus is Nelumbo lutea and is native to North America and the Caribbean.
Horticultural hybrids have been produced between these two allopatric species. There are several fossil species known from Cretaceous, Paleogene and Neogene aged strata throughout Eurasia and North America. Nelumbo lutea; American lotus. Nelumbo nucifera; sacred or Indian lotus, also known as the Rose of India and the sacred water lily of Hinduism and Buddhism. It is the national flower of India and Vietnam. Its roots and seeds are also used widely in Asian cooking. Nelumbo aureavallis; Eocene, described from leaves found in the Golden Valley Formation in North Dakota, USA. Nelumbo changchangensis Eocene, described from several fossils of leaves, seedpods, and rhizomes from the Eocene-aged strata in the Changchang Basin, of Hainan Is
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