Nelumbo (Lotus)

Nelumbo nucifera

Nelumbo is a genus of aquatic plants with large, showy, water lily-like flowers commonly known as lotus or sacred lotus. The generic name is derived from the Sinhalese word Nelum. There are two species in the genus, one of which is the well-known National Flower of India.


There is residual disagreement over which family the genus should be placed in. Traditional classification systems recognized Nelumbo as part of the Nymphaeaceae (water lily) family, but traditional taxonomists were likely misled by evolutionary convergences associated with an evolutionary shift from a terrestrial to an aquatic life style. In the older classification systems it was recognized under the orde Nymphaeales or Nelumbonales. Nelumbo is currently recognized as its own family, Nelumbonaceae, as one of several distinctive families in the eudicot order Proteales. Its closest living relatives are shrubs or trees (Proteaceae and Platanaceae).


The bird's-foot trefoils and deer-vetches in the genus Lotus (= formal scientific name) are not closely related to the sacred lotus (= common English name).

Species

• Nelumbo nucifera, the blue or Indian lotus, also known as the bean of India and the sacred water lily of Hinduism and Buddhism. It is the national flower of India. Its roots are also used widely in Asian cooking.
• Nelumbo lutea, the American lotus
  

Source:
Wikipedia