Alias: Lotus flower, Cottonrose hibiscus, water lotus, water hibiscus, water lily
Family Name: Nymphaeaceae
Morphological Character
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It is a kind of Hydrophyte. Its Rhizoma (lotus root) is corpulent and multiarticulate. It lives in the mud at the bottom of water, with round scutiform leaves. The bottle green surfaces of the leaves are covered with waxy white powder, and the sage green backs of the leaves are holophyllus and wavy. The leafstalk of water lily is columniform with thick-grown agnail. The solitary flower, which grows at the top of footstalk, stands high above the surface of the water. The shape of flower can be unipetalous, multi-petalous, or double-petalous, etc; the color of flower varies from white, pink, dark red, heliotrope or secondary color. The stamens are in group, while the pistils are separating, embedding in the inverse-conic spongy receptacle. There are multiple adsperse honeycomb pods at the surface of receptacle. When fertilized, the pods expand gradually and are called lotus seedpods, with a nut growing in each aperture and called lotus seed. The flower will last from June to September; it opens in the morning and closes at night. It fruits from September to October. There are many species of water lily, and according to the application, they can be partitioned into three systems, root lotus, seed lotus, flower lotus, respectively.
Lotus has been considered as a tonic for more than two thousand years. It is a symbol of sanctity, and also a symbol of Buddhism holiness.
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