Lotus root is the fat root of a plant Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.

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Lotus Origin and Tale.

Lotus Root Extract Lotus Leaf Extract INCI Name Nelumbo Nucifera Gaertn Extract Sacred Water Lotus photo picture image Lotus root is the fat root of a plant Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn., belonging to the lotus-lily family (Nelumbonaceae) of the water-lily order (Nymphaeales). This species is found in tropical and subtropical Middle East and Asia, from Egypt eastwards to Iran, India, China and Australia.

 The other speices of the order is the American lotus, or water chinquapin (N. lu tea, or N. pentapetala), found in the eastern United States and southward to Colombia.

 There are a number of freshwater plants called water lily that belong to the order Nymphaeaceae, comprising eight genera native to the temperate and tropical parts of the world. All members of the order are perennial except for the genus Euryale, an annual or short-lived perennial found only in Asia.
 Lotus Root Extract Lotus Leaf Extract INCI Name Nelumbo Nucifera Gaertn Extract Sacred Water Lotus photo picture image

 The family Nelumbonaceae is characterized by circular, centrally stalked, slightly hairy leaves up to about 60 cm across, with the margins turned up, forming a funnel- or saucer-shaped depression. The leaves extend, in the Asian species, as much as 2 m above the water instead of floating on it.

 The large, attractive flowers also stand high above the water on strong, leafless stalks. They may be up to 25 cm across and have a number of petals, which close at night. The flowers of the Nelumbo nucifera, which stand as much as 1.8 m above the water, are pink or rose-colored and fragrant. It is in flower from July to August. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). The American lotus has pale yellow flowers that rise about 60 cm above the water.

 Many varieties of the sacred lotus exist in cultivation, including dwarf forms and color varieties ranging from white to red. It cannot grow in the shade but can grow in water. The plant's many nutlike fruits are produced in the flat upper surface of a spongy receptacle or expanded, fleshy, capsulelike structure, which is wider at the upper end than at the base.

 The whole structure dries at maturity, breaks off, and floats about, releasing the seeds, actually the true fruits, through numerous holes in the flat surface. The seeds sink to the bottom and establish new plants. The dried receptacles are used by florists in dried arrangements.

 The whole plant of both species is edible. The rhizomes of Nelumbo nucifera are eaten in Asia either boiled or preserved in sugar and are the source of the starch known as lotus meal. The boiled young leaves are eaten as a vegetable. Even the stamens are used in Southeast Asia for flavoring tea. The American lotus is similarly edible, especially the large rhizomes, which were once a source of starchy food for the American Indians.
 Lotus Root Extract Lotus Leaf Extract INCI Name Nelumbo Nucifera Gaertn Extract Sacred Water Lotus photo picture image

 The plants are particularly beneficial to wildlife. Beaver, for instance, eat the rootstocks, and fish obtain shade and shelter among the underwater portions of the plants.

 The seeds of the Oriental lotus have been ascribed remarkable powers of longevity and, under ideal conditions, may survive many years. Seeds recovered from an ancient peat bog in Manchuria have been shown by radioactive carbon dating to be some 1,000 years old, yet were capable of germinating.

 In China, lotus is mainly produced in the provinces Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei, etc. Reaped in autumn and winter, the node is cut off when the lotus rhizome is dug out, then washed clean and dried in the sun for use when raw or after being parched.

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citations1.Lotus root is the fat root of a plant Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.

last edit date:2nd,July.2009.