Water lily
Nelumbo A. Rich. - water lotuses (2 spp.)
Nuphar Sm. (9 spp.)
Nymphaea L. - water lilies (47 spp.)
Ondinea Hartog (1 sp.)
Victoria Lindl. - giant water lily (2 spp.)
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The
Nymphaeaceae (water lilies) belong to the Order
Nymphaeales. They are tuberous plants that are rooted in soil in bodies of water, with
leaves and
flowers floating on the water surface. Some species of the water lotus are used as food.
Modern
phylogenetic thinking about the flowering plants regards the water lilies as the most basal ("primitive") of the flowering plants.
Many botanists place the genus
Nelumbo in its own family, the
Nelumbonaceae.
Lotus
The lotus is a water lily in either the genus Nymphaea (the Egyptian lotus) or genus Nelumbo (the Indian lotus). Like most water lilies, both plants have round leaves that float on the surface of the water. Nymphaea leaves have a radial notch; Nelumbo leaves do not. Leaves lacking a notch reaching into the petiole (leaf stem) are called peltate. Nelumbo fruit is often used in flower arrangements. It has about twenty pits in its upper surface, each of which contains a seed. Both plants have been used as religious symbols.
Nelumbo nucifera is highly regarded in Hindu and Buddhist cultures and has been given the status of National Flower of India. This species is also edible in all its parts and is used in many Asian cuisines.
The Lotus in Buddhism
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. See also: Lotus Position.
References
- Nymphaeaceae Salisb. (1805) - R. A. Salisbury, in the Annals of Botany (Editors C. König and J. Sims), 2:70. London, 1805.
- L. Watson and M. J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards).
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