Lotus
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Hydrophobic surface allows self-cleaning: sacred lotus
Leaves of the sacred lotus are self-cleaning thanks to nanoscale bumps.
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
- Barthlott, W.; Neinhuis, C. 1997. Purity of the sacred lotus, or escape from contamination in biological surfaces. Planta. 202(1): 1-8.
- Neinhuis, C.; Barthlott, W. 1997. Characterization and distribution of water-repellent, self-cleaning plant surfaces. Annals of Botany. 79(6): 667-677.
- Nature's Raincoats. Nottingham Trent University, University of Oxford.
http://www.naturesraincoats.com/index.html.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | (c) 2008-2009 The Biomimicry Institute |
| Source | http://www.asknature.org/strategy/714e970954253ace485abf1cee376ad8 |
Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn., 1788
Distribution
Native to tropics in Asia and Oceania.
| License | Public Domain |
| Rights holder/Author | No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation. |
| Source | http://treatment.plazi.org/id/A355624BE6D7950171C414CFEBADDE46 |
Depth range based on 1 specimen in 1 taxon.
Environmental ranges
Depth range (m): 0 - 0
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Ocean Biogeographic Information System |
| Source | http://www.iobis.org/mapper/?taxon_id=752823 |
This species is cultivated for its edible rhizomes and seeds.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
| Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200007079 |
Nelumbo lutea is a species of flowering plant in the monotypic family Nelumbonaceae. Common names include American lotus, yellow lotus, water-chinquapin, and volée. It is native to North America. The Linnaean binomial Nelumbo lutea (Willd.) is the currently recognized name for this species, which has been classified under the former names Nelumbium luteum and Nelumbo pentapetala, among others.[1]
Contents
Description[edit]
American lotus is an emergent aquatic plant. It grows in lakes and swamps, as well as areas subject to flooding. The roots are anchored in the mud, but the leaves and flowers emerge above the water's surface. The petioles of the leaves may extend as much as 2 m (6.6 ft) and end in a round leaf blade 33–43 cm (13–17 in) in diameter. Mature plants range in height from 0.8 to 1.5 m (2.6 to 4.9 ft).[2]
Flowering begins in late spring and may continue into the summer. The specific name means "yellow" in Latin and refers to the flowers, which may be white to pale yellow. The flowers measure 18–28 cm (7.1–11.0 in) in diameter and have 22-25 petals.[2]
Range[edit]
The native distribution of the species is the southeastern United States, Mexico, Honduras, and the Caribbean.
It was apparently distributed northwards in the United States by Native Americans who carried the plant with them as a food source.[3]
Uses[edit]
This plant has a large tuber that is used as a food source. This may be the plant called "macoupin" in Miami-Illinois. The seed is also edible and is known as "alligator corn".[4]
It is widely planted in ponds for its foliage and flowers. American Lotus spreads via creeping rhizomes and seeds. This species has been crossed with N. nucifera to create many hybrids. Seeds may be propagated by scarifying the pointed tip of the seed with a file then soaking in water, or by division of established plants.
Other Media[edit]
Disney's character Princess Tiana (Disney) wears as her iconic princess dress, a gown fashioned from a yellow Nelumbo lutea.
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References[edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nelumbo lutea. |
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Wikispecies has information related to: Nelumbo lutea |
- ^ "Nelumbo lutea". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- ^ a b Slocum, Perry D. (2005). Waterlilies and Lotuses: Species, Cultivars, and New Hybrids. Timber Press. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-88192-684-2.
- ^ Wiersema, John H. (1997). "Nelumboanaceae". Flora of North America 3.
- ^ Mariani, John F. (1999). Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink. Lebhar-Friedman Books. p. 5. ISBN 0-86730-784-6.
- American Lotus, Illinois Natural History Survey dead link, no replacement found on that website
- Illiniwik Food Sources
- Prairie Place Names, Illinois Department of Natural Resources
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
| Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nelumbo_lutea&oldid=628339042 |
"Notes: Freshwater ponds and Lakes. Cultivated, Also grown as ornamental"
Growing in Lakes, ponds, cultivated.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Wen, Jun, Wen, Jun, Plants of Tibet |
| Source | http://plantsoftibet.lifedesks.org/pages/212 |
This perennial wildflower is an emergent aquatic that produces leaves and flowers directly from underwater rhizomes. The leaf blades are 1-2½' across; they are orbicular and concave toward their centers, smooth and slightly wavy-drooping along their margins, and peltate (each petiole joining its leaf blade near the middle). The upper blade surface is light to dark green and glabrous, while the lower blade surface is light green and slightly hairy. Several veins radiate from the center of each leaf blade, branching dichotomously toward its margin. The relatively stout petioles are 2-6' long, light green, terete, and glabrous; they contain internal chambers of air. Most leaf blades are held about ½-3' above the surface of the water on their petioles, although a minority of leaf blades may float on the surface of the water. Flowers are produced individually from stout peduncles about 3-6' tall. The peduncles are light green, terete, and glabrous; like the petioles, they also contain internal chambers of air. The flowers are held about ½-3' above the surface of the water. Each flower is about 4-8" across, consisting of 10-20 tepals, an obconic receptacle, and numerous stamens. The outermost tepals are light green, otherwise they are white to pale yellow. The golden yellow stamens have hooked appendages at their apices. Each receptacle has 10-20 pistils along its truncate upper surface that are embedded in pits. The blooming period occurs during mid- to late summer for about 1½ months. Individual flowers are short-lived and often mildly fragrant. Afterwards, the receptacles of the flowers become 3-6" across and turn brown; each receptacle contains 10-20 nut-like seeds. Individual seeds are about ½" across and ovoid-globoid in shape; the receptacle eventually bends downward to release the seeds into the water. The root system is long-rhizomatous. Rhizomes that are produced during late summer and fall become swollen and starchy. This wildflower is a strong colonizer.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Copyright © 2002-2014 by Dr. John Hilty |
| Source | http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/am_lotus.html |
Nelumbo lutea is a species as magnificent as its Asian relative, N . nucifera , but it is less cultivated for ornament. It was probably originally confined to flood plains of major rivers and their tributaries in the east-central United States and carried northward and eastward by aborigines who used the seeds and tubers for food. The species is sometimes an aggressive, difficult-to-eradicate weed in ponds, lakes, and reservoirs.
Although Nelumbo lutea is often attributed to (Willdenow) Persoon, the spelling Nelumbium luteum used by Willdenow is an orthographic error for Nelumbo lutea (W. Greuter et al. 1994, Art. 61.4) that should be corrected, and Persoon's later combination is superfluous.
The name Nelumbo pentapetala (Walter) Fernald, sometimes used for this taxon, was based on Nymphaea pentapetala Walter, a name of uncertain application that has been recently proposed for rejection (J. H. Wiersema and J. L. Reveal 1991).
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
| Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500796 |
Petiole 1-2 m long, terete, fistulous, glabrous or papillae hard and scattered; leaf blade abaxially blue-green, orbicular, 25-90 cm in diameter, papery, glabrous, glaucous, water-repellent, margin entire. Flowers 10-23 cm in diameter; peduncles longer than petioles, glabrous or sparsely spinulate. Tepals caducous, pink or white, oblong-elliptic to obovate, 5-10 cm long, 3--5 cm wide. Stamens slightly longer than receptacle; filament slender; anther linear, 1-2 mm long; connective appendage clavate, to 7 mm, incurved. Receptacle accrescent, turbinate, 5-10 cm in diameter. Fruit oblong to ovoid, 1.0-2.0 cm long, 7-15 cm wide, glabrous; pericarp thick, hardened.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Wen, Jun, Wen, Jun, Plants of Tibet |
| Source | http://plantsoftibet.lifedesks.org/pages/212 |