Sacred Lotus – Nelumbo nucifera

Common Name: Sacred Lotus, East Indian Lotus

Botanical Name: Nelumbo nucifera, ne-LUM-bo nu-CIF-er-a

Decorative Life: Seed pod is used with indefinite life.

Flower Color: Pink, White

Availability: Year Round

• The name Nelumbo is used in Sir Lanka, is an orginial Ceylonese name of the plant. The Japanese name Hasu is a version of Hachisu, which means the bee’s nest, in reference to the sack of the seeds that look to some like a bee’s nest.
• The specific epithet name “nucifera” means bearing nuts.
• The fruit is a conical shaped pod with the seeds aranged in holes; when the seeds are ripe, they are released because the pod bends downwards to the water.
• This plant has reported numerous medicinal uses such as treating diarrhea, hemorrhoids, fever, insomnia, bleeding, and syphillis.
• It is reported that a 1,288 year old seed of this species collected from an ancient lake bed in China is one of the oldest germinable seed on record.