''Nelumbo'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...
s with large, showy
flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s. Members are commonly called lotus, though the name is also applied to
various other plants and plant groups, including the unrelated genus ''
Lotus''. Members outwardly resemble those in the family
Nymphaeaceae
Nymphaeaceae () is a family of flowering plants, commonly called water lilies. They live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains nine genera with about 70 known species. Water li ...
("water lilies"), but ''Nelumbo'' is actually very distant to that family.
There are only two known living species of lotus; ''
Nelumbo nucifera
''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as sacred lotus, Laxmi lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often re ...
'' is native to
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
,
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
,
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
and probably
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and is better-known. It is commonly cultivated; it is eaten and used in
traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
.
The other lotus is ''
Nelumbo lutea
''Nelumbo lutea'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. Common names include American lotus, yellow lotus, water-chinquapin, and volée. It is native to North America. The botanical name ''Nelumbo lutea'' Willd. is the c ...
'', which is
native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
to
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
and the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
. Horticultural hybrids have been produced between these two
allopatric species.
Description
Ultrahydrophobicity
![Nelumbo nucifera (Indian Lotus)- water drops W IMG 8657](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Nelumbo_nucifera_%28Indian_Lotus%29-_water_drops_W_IMG_8657.jpg)
The
leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
of ''Nelumbo'' are highly water-repellent (i.e. they exhibit
ultrahydrophobicity
Ultrahydrophobic (or superhydrophobic) surfaces are highly hydrophobic, i.e., extremely difficult to wet. The contact angles of a water droplet on an ultrahydrophobic material exceed 150°. This is also referred to as the lotus effect, after the ...
) and have given the name to what is called the
lotus effect
The lotus effect refers to self-cleaning properties that are a result of ultrahydrophobicity as exhibited by the leaves of ''Nelumbo'', the lotus flower. Dirt particles are picked up by water droplets due to the micro- and nanoscopic architect ...
. Ultrahydrophobicity involves two criteria: a very high water contact angle between the droplet of water and the leaf surface, and a very low roll-off angle.
This means that the water must contact the leaf surface at exactly one, minuscule point, and any manipulation of the leaf by changing its angle will result in the water droplet rolling off of the leaf.
Ultrahydrophobicity is conferred by the usually dense layer of papillae on the surface of the ''Nelumbo'' leaves, and the small, robust, waxy tubules that protrude off each papilla.
This helps reduce the area of contact between the water droplet and the leaf.
Ultrahydrophobicity is said to confer a very important
evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
ary advantage. As an aquatic plant with leaves that rest on the water's surface, the genus ''Nelumbo'' is characterized by its concentration of
stoma
In botany, a stoma (from Greek ''στόμα'', "mouth", plural "stomata"), also called a stomate (plural "stomates"), is a pore found in the epidermis of leaves, stems, and other organs, that controls the rate of gas exchange. The pore is bor ...
ta on the upper
epidermis
The epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin, the inner layers being the dermis and hypodermis. The epidermis layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens and regulates the amount of water rele ...
of its leaves, unlike most other plants which concentrate their stomata on the lower
epidermis
The epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin, the inner layers being the dermis and hypodermis. The epidermis layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens and regulates the amount of water rele ...
, underneath the leaf.
The collection of water on the upper epidermis, whether that be by rain, mist, or the nearby disturbance of water, is very detrimental to the leaf's ability to perform gas exchange through its stomata. Thus, ''Nelumbo's'' ultrahydrophobicity allows the water droplets to accumulate together very quickly, and then roll off of the leaf very easily at the slightest disturbance of the leaf, a process which allows its stomata to function normally without restriction due to blockage by water droplets.
Thermoregulation
A unique property of the genus ''Nelumbo'' is that it can
generate heat,
which it does by using the alternative oxidase pathway (AOX).
This pathway involves a different, alternative exchange of
electron
The electron ( or ) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family,
and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no kn ...
s from the usual pathway that electrons follow when generating energy in
mitochondria
A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the Cell (biology), cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and Fungus, fungi. Mitochondria have a double lipid bilayer, membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosi ...
, known as the AOX, or alternative oxidase pathway.
The typical pathway in plant mitochondria involves
cytochrome
Cytochromes are redox-active proteins containing a heme, with a central Fe atom at its core, as a cofactor. They are involved in electron transport chain and redox catalysis. They are classified according to the type of heme and its mode of bin ...
complexes. The pathway used to generate heat in ''Nelumbo'' involves
cyanide
Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms.
In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...
-resistant alternative oxidase, which is a different electron acceptor than the usual cytochrome complexes.
The plant also reduces
ubiquitin
Ubiquitin is a small (8.6 kDa) regulatory protein found in most tissues of eukaryotic organisms, i.e., it is found ''ubiquitously''. It was discovered in 1975 by Gideon Goldstein and further characterized throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. Fo ...
concentrations while in
thermogenesis
Thermogenesis is the process of heat production in organisms. It occurs in all warm-blooded animals, and also in a few species of thermogenic plants such as the Eastern skunk cabbage, the Voodoo lily (''Sauromatum venosum''), and the giant wate ...
, which allows the AOX in the plant to function without degradation
Thermogenesis is restricted to the
receptacle,
stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
, and
petal
Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...
s of the flower, but each of these parts produce heat independently without relying on the heat production in other parts of the flower.
There are several theories about the function of thermogenesis, especially in an aquatic genus such as ''Nelumbo''. The most common theory posits that thermogenesis in flowers attracts
pollinator
A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains.
Insects are the maj ...
s, for a variety of reasons. Heated flowers may attract insect pollinators. As the pollinators warm themselves while resting inside the flower, they deposit and pick up
pollen
Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...
onto and from the flower.
The thermogenic environment might also be conducive to pollinator
mating
In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. ''Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reproduc ...
; pollinators may require a certain temperature for reproduction. By providing an ideal thermogenic environment, the flower is pollinated by mating pollinators.
Others theorize that heat production facilitates the release of
volatile compounds into the air to attract pollinators flying over water, or that the heat is recognizable in the dark by thermo-sensitive pollinators. None have been conclusively proven to be more plausible than the others.
After
anthesis
Anthesis is the period during which a flower is fully open and functional. It may also refer to the onset of that period.
The onset of anthesis is spectacular in some species. In ''Banksia'' species, for example, anthesis involves the extension ...
, the receptacle of the lotus transitions from a primarily thermogenic to a
photosynthetic
Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored in c ...
structure, as seen in the rapid and dramatic increase in
photosystem
Photosystems are functional and structural units of protein complexes involved in photosynthesis. Together they carry out the primary photochemistry of photosynthesis: the absorption of light and the transfer of energy and electrons. Photosystems ...
s, photosynthetically involved pigments, electron transport rates, and the presence of
13C in the receptacle and petals, all of which assist in increasing photosynthesis rates.
After this transition, all thermogenesis in the flower is lost. Pollinators do not need to be attracted once the
ovary
The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...
is fertilized, and thus the receptacle's resources are better used when it is photosynthesizing to produce
carbohydrate
In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or ma ...
s that can increase plant biomass or fruit mass.
Other plants utilize thermoregulation in their life cycles. Among these is the
eastern skunk cabbage
''Symplocarpus foetidus'', commonly known as skunk cabbage or eastern skunk cabbage (also swamp cabbage, clumpfoot cabbage, or meadow cabbage, foetid pothos or polecat weed), is a low growing plant that grows in wetlands and moist hill slopes of ...
, which heats itself to melt any ice above it, and push through the ground in early spring,. Also, the
elephant yam, which heats its flowers to attract pollinators. In addition, the
carrion flower
Carrion flowers, also known as corpse flowers or stinking flowers, are mimetic flowers that emit an odor that smells like rotting flesh. Apart from the scent, carrion flowers often display additional characteristics that contribute to the mimesi ...
, which heats itself to disperse water vapor through the air, carrying its scent further, thus attracting more pollinators.
Similar species
The leaves of ''Nelumbo'' can be distinguished from those of genera in the family
Nymphaeaceae
Nymphaeaceae () is a family of flowering plants, commonly called water lilies. They live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains nine genera with about 70 known species. Water li ...
as they are
peltate
The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...
, that is they have fully circular leaves. ''
Nymphaea
''Nymphaea'' () is a genus of hardy and tender aquatic plants in the family Nymphaeaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. Many species are cultivated as ornamental plants, and many cultivars have been bred. Some taxa occur as introduc ...
'', on the other hand, has a single characteristic notch from the edge in to the center of the lily pad. The
seedpod
This page provides a glossary of plant morphology. Botanists and other biologists who study plant morphology use a number of different terms to classify and identify plant organs and parts that can be observed using no more than a handheld magnify ...
of ''Nelumbo'' is very distinctive.
Taxonomy
Taxonomic history
The
Cronquist system
The Cronquist system is a taxonomic classification system of flowering plants. It was developed by Arthur Cronquist in a series of monographs and texts, including ''The Evolution and Classification of Flowering Plants'' (1968; 2nd edition, 1988) a ...
of 1981 recognizes the family
Nelumbonaceae
Nelumbonaceae is a family of aquatic flowering plants. ''Nelumbo'' is the sole extant genus, containing ''Nelumbo lutea'', native to North America, and ''Nelumbo nucifera'', widespread in Asia. At least four other genera, ''Nelumbites'', ''Exne ...
but places it in the water lily order
Nymphaeales
The Nymphaeales are an order (biology), order of flowering plants, consisting of three Family (biology), families of aquatic plants, the Hydatellaceae, the Cabombaceae, and the Nymphaeaceae (water lilies). It is one of the three orders of basal a ...
. The
Dahlgren system
One of the modern systems of plant taxonomy, the Dahlgren system was published by monocot specialist Rolf Dahlgren in 1975 and revised in 1977, and 1980. However, he is best known for his two treatises on monocotyledons in 1982 and revised in 19 ...
of 1985 and
Thorne system A system of plant taxonomy, the Thorne system of plant classification was devised by the American botanist Robert F. Thorne (1920–2015) in 1968, and he continued to issue revisions over many years (1968–2007).
Some versions of the system are ...
of 1992 both recognize the family and place it in its own order, Nelumbonales. The
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...
still classifies the lotus family within the water lily order.
There is residual disagreement over which family the genus should be placed in. Traditional classification systems recognized ''Nelumbo'' as part of the Nymphaeaceae, but traditional taxonomists were likely misled by
convergent evolution
Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...
associated with an evolutionary shift from a terrestrial to an aquatic lifestyle. In the older classification systems it was recognized under the order Nymphaeales or Nelumbonales.
Modern classification
''Nelumbo'' is currently recognized as the
only living genus in Nelumbonaceae, one of several distinctive families in the
eudicot
The eudicots, Eudicotidae, or eudicotyledons are a clade of flowering plants mainly characterized by having two seed leaves upon germination. The term derives from Dicotyledons.
Traditionally they were called tricolpates or non-magnoliid dicot ...
order of the
Proteales
Proteales is an order of flowering plants consisting of three (or four) families. The Proteales have been recognized by almost all taxonomists.
The representatives of the Proteales are very different from each other. The order contains plants ...
. Its closest living relatives, the (
Proteaceae
The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order Pro ...
and
Platanaceae
Platanaceae, the "plane-tree family", is a family of flowering plants in the order Proteales. The family consists of only a single extant genus ''Platanus'', with eight known species. The plants are tall trees, native to temperate and subtropic ...
), are shrubs or trees.
The
APG IV system
The APG IV system of flowering plant classification is the fourth version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy for flowering plants (angiosperms) being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). It was publishe ...
of 2016 recognizes Nelumbonaceae as a distinct family and places it in the order Proteales in the eudicot
clade
A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...
, as do the earlier
APG III APG is an abbreviation with several different meanings:
* Aberdeen Proving Ground, a United States Army installation in Aberdeen, Maryland, also
** Phillips Army Airfield, the airfield of the above, from its IATA airport code
* Aboriginal Provisiona ...
and
APG II system
The APG II system (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II system) of plant classification is the second, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in April 2003 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Gro ...
s.
Phylogeny
There are several fossil species known from
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
,
Paleogene
The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...
and
Neogene
The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...
aged strata throughout
Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...
and
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. Despite the ancient origins of this genus and the wide geographic separation of the two extant species (''N. nucifera'' and ''N. lutea''), phylogenetic evidence indicates that they diverged rather recently, during the early
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
(about 2 million years ago).
Species
Extant species
*''
Nelumbo lutea
''Nelumbo lutea'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. Common names include American lotus, yellow lotus, water-chinquapin, and volée. It is native to North America. The botanical name ''Nelumbo lutea'' Willd. is the c ...
''
Willd.
Carl Ludwig Willdenow (22 August 1765 – 10 July 1812) was a German botanist, pharmacist, and plant taxonomist. He is considered one of the founders of phytogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of plants. Willdenow was al ...
– American lotus (
Eastern United States
The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
Greater Antilles
The Greater Antilles ( es, Grandes Antillas or Antillas Mayores; french: Grandes Antilles; ht, Gwo Zantiy; jam, Grieta hAntiliiz) is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and ...
,
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
)
*''
Nelumbo nucifera
''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as sacred lotus, Laxmi lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often re ...
''
Gaertn.
Joseph Gaertner (12 March 1732 – 14 July 1791) was a German botanist, best known for his work on seeds, ''De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum'' (1788-1792).
Biography
He was born in Calw, and studied in Göttingen under Albrecht von Haller ...
– sacred or Indian lotus, also known as the Rose of India and the sacred water lily of
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
and
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
.
It is the
national flower
In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to ...
of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. Its roots and
seeds
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm pl ...
are also used widely in cooking in East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia.
Fossil species
*†''
Nelumbo aureavallis''
Hickey
A hickey, hickie or love bite in British English, is a bruise or bruise-like mark caused by kissing or sucking skin, usually on the neck, arm, or earlobe. While biting may be part of giving a hickey, sucking is sufficient to burst small superfici ...
–
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
(
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
), described from leaves found in the Golden Valley Formation in North Dakota, USA.
*†''
Nelumbo changchangensis
''Nelumbo'' is a genus of aquatic plants with large, showy flowers. Members are commonly called lotus, though the name is also applied to various other plants and plant groups, including the unrelated genus '' Lotus''. Members outwardly resem ...
'' Eocene, (
Hainan Island
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
, China), described from several fossils of leaves, seedpods, and rhizomes from the Eocene-aged strata in the Changchang Basin, of Hainan Island.
*†''
Nelumbo minima
''Nelumbo'' is a genus of aquatic plants with large, showy flowers. Members are commonly called lotus, though the name is also applied to various other plants and plant groups, including the unrelated genus '' Lotus''. Members outwardly resemb ...
''
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58[Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...](_blank)
), described from leaves and seedpods that suggest a very small plant. Originally described as a member of the genus ''
Nelumbites'', as "''Nelumbites minimus''."
*†''
Nelumbo nipponica
''Nelumbo'' is a genus of aquatic plants with large, showy flowers. Members are commonly called lotus, though the name is also applied to various other plants and plant groups, including the unrelated genus '' Lotus''. Members outwardly resem ...
''
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
-
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
, fossil leaves are known from Eocene-aged strata in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, and Miocene-aged strata in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
.
*†''
Nelumbo orientalis
''Nelumbo'' is a genus of aquatic plants with large, showy flowers. Members are commonly called lotus, though the name is also applied to various other plants and plant groups, including the unrelated genus '' Lotus''. Members outwardly resemb ...
''
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
(Japan), one of the oldest known species, fossils are found in Cretaceous-aged strata of Japan.
*†''
Nelumbo protolutea'' Eocene (
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
), fossils of leaves strongly suggest a plant similar in form to the American lotus.
Etymology
The genus name is derived from si, නෙළුම් ''neḷum'', the name for ''Nelumbo nucifera''.
Uses
The entire plant can be eaten either raw or cooked. The underwater portion is high in
starch
Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...
. The fleshy parts can be dug from the mud and baked or boiled. The young leaves can be boiled. The seeds are palatable and can be eaten raw or dried and ground into flour. The stem fibers are also used to make
lotus silk
Lotus silk ( my, or my, , ) is a type of textile produced using delicate lotus stem fibers. The fabric first originated in Myanmar (Burma), and is now also woven by smaller-scale cottage industries in Vietnam. Due to the complexity and labor- ...
.
Weaving success: Manipur woman seeks to employ more locals in her lotus silk venture
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Culture
The sacred lotus, ''N. nucifera'', is sacred in both Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
and Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
.[ It is the ]floral emblem
In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to ...
of both India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
References
External links
links at CSDL
{{Taxonbar, from=Q207427
Eudicot genera