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Nelumbo nucifera is the scientific name. In Sanskrit, it is known as padma, kamala, ambuja, pankaja. It is an aquatic plant and colloquially called water lily also.

Typically, lotus has large leaves and flowers that can regulate their temperature and they have long living seeds. If the conditions are favourable, the seeds can remain dormant for a long time. The oldest recorded germination is in China with seeds which were more than 1300 years old which were found in a dry lake-bed. Chinese therefore, regard lotus as a symbol of longevity.

It grows in a wide ranging geographical area from East Asia to Indochina, central and northern India upto around 1300 mts., Russia. Now, some species are found in Southern India, Sri Lanka, South East Asia, and even Australia.

It is said that it has been in existence for more 135 million years with evidence of its cultivation more than 3000 years ago

Cultural significance

It is the national flower of India. It has an immense cultural significance in India. It is used in religious offerings. It also signifies spiritual awakening, purity and divine beauty. It is considered to be the most auspicious flower.

Many of the passages describing Gods/Goddesses refer to their eyes being the shape of a lotus or their hands having the softness and beauty of lotus. Many iconographies of Indian Gods and Goddesses depict them with a lotus in their hands or them being seated on a lotus. Goddess Mahalakshmi (the goddess of wealth) is frequently depicted as being seated on a pink lotus with one lotus each in two of her hands while Goddess Saraswati (the goddess of learning) is depicted as being seated on a white lotus. Lord Vishnu is shown as holding a pink lotus on his right hand while Lord Surya (the Sun-God) is shown as having one lotus on each of his hands.

Lotus flower is used in all forms of worship for Hindu Gods and Goddesses. The lotus leaf is frequently used as an example to show how we should lead our life in the world. Just as the lotus leaf sits on the water and yet is never wet, it is never affected by the water, we are expected to be very involved in the world’s activities, yet not be affected by it. The dirt in which it sits does not affect the leaf and the flowers. Even if dirt or water touches them, the dirt just floats away without staining it, similarly, we are told that we should not allow any of the difficulties, pains and distress in our lives to affect us.

Lotus seeds are also used as prayer beads.

Varieties

There are three varieties:

1. Rhizome lotus: This produces the highest yield and higher quality of rhizomes than the other two varieties. This grows tall with little or no flowers. They can be harvested early when they are more tender, which can be used as a vegetable or at a later stage which can be used for frying purposes.
2. Seed lotus: This variety yields large number of carpels and seed sets as well as large seeds with higher nutrition. Roots of this variety are thin and fibrous and will not have good rhizomes.
3. Flower lotus: This is used purely for the flowers and has the lowest height. Seeds are very less in this variety and the quality of the seeds are also not too great. They can have differing number of petals – single, double or multiple. They also have a wide variety of colours such as white, pink , yellow, red or even in bi-colour such as white lotus with pink tips.

Parts used

The flower, leaves and stem are used for culinary purposes. Rhizomes and seeds can also be used for cooking.

Lotus plant fibres can be converted to lotus silk. This is produced in Myanmar and Cambodia.

Leaves, rhizomes and seeds are used extensively in Ayurveda for creating different medicines.

It is said that lotus can be used for wastewater treatment as it can remove polluting compounds and metals. The leaves of the lotus are large and sit on the water which effectively cuts off the sunlight to the lower part of the water. This helps to suppress algae growth.

Culinary uses

1. Rhizomes are consumed in Asia especially in China, Japan, India and Pakistan. This can be fried or cooked in soups or pickled. They have a crunchy texture. Lotus root tea is made in Korea. In India it is cooked as a dry vegetable or wet curry. It can be dried and made into flour.
2. Seeds: normally, we find dried lotus seed. Lotus seeds are widely used across the world in noodles, fermented milk, ice cream, etc.
3. Lotus stem which is the stalk of the flower, is used as a vegetable. This part is used in South India as a fritter – this part is cut into thin slices, marinated with salt to dry and dried slices are fried and used as a side dish.
4. Lotus leaf tea is popular in China and Korea. Some places serve food on lotus leaves. It is also used to wrap the food for steaming. Typically fried rice is wrapped in lotus leaf. This gives a unique flavour to the moist rice.
5. In Korea, the dried flowers of the white lotus are used to make lotus flower tea.

Propagation

In natural conditions, lotus plants grow in the flood plains of rivers which are slow moving and in delta areas. Thousands of seeds get dropped to the bottom of the pond, or river. This can remain dormant or can sprout immediately. Some get eaten by wildlife. The dormant seeds can remain so for a very long time even in dry conditions of the delta or river. Once the area becomes flooded, the seeds break open and the dormant seed gets hydrated and begin a new lotus colony.

They are cultivated in loamy and flooded soils. They require warm temperatures and deep waters. They can be propagated in the open areas with rhizomes, seeds or tissue culture and can be harvested by hand or by machine.

Lotus roots dig into the soil while the leaves float on the surface of the water and stay just above it. The leaves stalks can be 6 to 7 feet in length. The diameter of the leaves can be 2-3 feet. Typically, the leaves stay spaced apart with a distance of around 6 feet.

Flowers grow on thick stems a little above the leaves. They are beautiful to look at and can grow upto 15 inches in diameter. Some varieties in China can have upto 3000 to 4000 petals in one blossom while in Japan, there is a variety which can have between 2000 to 5000 petals.

The best part of the flowers – they can regulate their temperatures within a range of 30-35°C even when the outside air temperature drops to 10°C.

A fertilised lotus flower can have from 8 to 25 seeds. The first leaves and flowers can be harvested within about 3 months after planting. Flowers are picked on alternate days in summer and every 3 days during winter. The production of flowers is at its peak around four months after germination. Rhizomes can be harvested between 6-9 months from planting.

Seeds and seed pods can be harvested when they turn black, around 4-8 months after planting. After drying in the sun for 2-3 days, the seed coats and embryos can be separated.

Typically it is cultivated between two crops i.e. either rice or vegetables. Very often, people raise aquatic animals such as fish, shrimp along with this.

The question that arises in the mind is whether it can be cultivated in a house. The answer is yes. The propagation of lotus plant with seeds is given below:

1. Seeds are oval and almost brown – black in colour. The size of the seed is around 1-2.5 cm wide and long. Seeds must be first lightly hit or scraped at the node before soaking.
2. Soak it for at least 3-4 days in plain water.
3. Change the water everyday.
4. A leaf starts emerging from the seed.
5. Once the leaf is a around 5-6 cms in height, you can put it in mud in a small pot with no drainage holes. Fill up the pot with water.
6. It will then start developing roots. Once roots are formed, transfer the pot into a big tub filled with water. The bottom of the tub should have some mud – around 1/3rd tub height.
7. Let the pot and lotus seed be completely immersed. Ideally the leaf should be floating on the surface.
8. The tub should be placed in a spot with adequate sunlight.
9. It takes time to grow but it first puts out more leaves and then slowly the roots become long. Once the roots start becoming long, it can be removed from the small pot and placed into the mud in the tub.
10. This should be placed gently very close to the outer surface since the roots tend to circle around the tub.
11. As stated above, the first flowers start around 2-3 months after it germinates.

Growing this flower gives immense satisfaction. You can try this method at home. Do write back with your experience and comments.