Nelumbo nucifera - Lotus 荷花

Lotus is a flowering plant in the family Nelumbonaceae.  It is also known as Rose of India, Indian lotus, sacred water lily, scared lotus, etc.

Lotus was formerly known as Nelumbium speciosum (Willd.), Nymphaea nelumbo, etc. which are all now obsolete.   The only name currently recognized is  Nelumbo nucifera (Gaertn.) .

In China, it is known as  莲花 or 荷花, ancient scripts recorded it as 芙蓉, 菡萏, 芙蕖.  It is often mistaken for waterlily  睡蓮, which is of Nymphaea genus.  Nelumbo and Nymphaea are currently classified under entirely different families.

The generic name Nelumbo is derived from the Sinhalese word ‘Nelum’.   The specific name nucifera is Latin for “nut-bearing”.

There are only 2 known living species in the genus : the sacred lotus – Nelumbo nucifera – of Asia ; and the American lotus – Nelumbo lutea – of North America.   Hybrids have been produced between N. nucifera and N. lutea.   A third extinct species, Nelumbo aureavallis is known from Eocene fossils from North Dakota, USA.

The roots of Nelumbo nucifera are planted in the soil of water bottom, while the leaves are often held above water surface.  
Leaves are peltate, circular, and superhydrophobicity.   
Flowers are pink in colour, hermaphrodite, entomophily, thermoregulated. 
Seed pods are conical, green upon maturity, turn brown when ripened.   
Seeds contained in holes in the pod, loose when ripe.