American lotus

Description

Nelumbo lutea is a species of flowering plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. Common names include American lotus, yellow lotus, water-chinquapin, and volée. It is native to North America. The botanical name Nelumbo lutea Willd. is the currently recognized name for this species, which has been classified under the former names Nelumbium luteum and Nelumbo pentapetala, among others. American lotus is an emergent aquatic plant. It grows in lakes and swamps, as well as areas subject to flooding. The roots are anchored in the mud, but the leaves and flowers emerge above the water's surface. The petioles of the leaves may extend as much as 2 m (6.6 ft) and end in a round leaf blade 33–43 cm (13–17 in) in diameter. Mature plants range in height from 0.8 to 1.5 m (2.6 to 4.9 ft). Flowering begins in late spring and may continue into the summer. The specific name means "yellow" in Latin and refers to the flowers, which may be white to pale yellow. The flowers measure 18–28 cm (7.1–11.0 in) in diameter and have 22-25 petals. It is the larval host plant of the American lotus borer, Ostrinia penitalis. However, Nelumbo lutea populations are declining in the U.S. due to habitat destruction, and it has been listed as threatened or endangered in New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, and extirpated in Delaware.Their populations have a low level of genetic diversity, showing variation among different populations rather than within populations. Nelumbo is a genus of aquatic plants with large, showy flowers. Members are commonly called lotus, though "lotus" is a name also applied to various other plants and plant groups, including the unrelated genus Lotus. Members outwardly resemble those in the family Nymphaeaceae ("water lilies"), but Nelumbo is actually very distant to Nymphaeaceae. "Nelumbo" is derived from neḷum, the name for the lotus Nelumbo nucifera. There are only two known living species of lotus; N. nucifera is native to East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia and is better-known. It is commonly cultivated; it is eaten and used in traditional Chinese medicine. This species is the floral emblem of both India and Vietnam. The other lotus is Nelumbo lutea and is native to North America and the Caribbean. Horticultural hybrids have been produced between these two allopatric species. There are several fossil species known from Cretaceous, Paleogene and Neogene aged strata throughout Eurasia and North America.