Lotus ( Water plants with Enchanting Flowers )

Lotus Flower

Lotus is a common name for the genus Nymphaea that is a water plant. Lotus plants characterized by leaves that float on the surface of still water. Lotus plants also produce flowers which have a dazzling variety of colors.

In some areas in Indonesia lotus is known by several names are almost similar like the lotus, and Terate. In English, the flower of the genus Nymphaea is known as a water-lily or waterlily.

There are more than 50 kinds (species) of lotus in the world that spread from the tropics to the subtropics. It is said the lotus tropical species originating from Egypt.

The characteristics. Lotus plants growing on the surface of still water. Lotus plants have leaves that grow floating on the water surface. Lotus flowers are also found in surface water, lotus flowers and leaves from the stalk coming out of the rhizomes in the mud at the bottom of a pond, river or swamp.

Lotus stalks are in the middle of the leaf. Leaves round or oval shape that the width of the cut on the fingers toward the stalk. Leaf surface does not contain a layer of wax so that the water that falls onto the surface of the leaves do not form water droplets.

Lotus flower grows on a stalk which is an extension of the rhizome. Nymphaea flower diameter bergenus
is between 5-10 cm.

Type of species diversity. Several different types of lotus plants, among others:

Nymphaea alba - European White Water-lily (white lotus)
Nymphaea amazonum
Nymphaea ampla
Nymphaea Blanda
Nymphaea caerulea - Blue Egyptian Water-lily
Nymphaea calliantha
Nymphaea candida
Nymphaea capensis - Cape Blue Water-lily
Nymphaea citrina
Nymphaea colorata
Nymphaea elegans
Nymphaea fennica
Nymphaea flavovirens
Nymphaea gardneriana
Nymphaea gigantea - Australian Water-lily
Nymphaea heudelotii
Nymphaea jamesoniana
Leibergii Nymphaea - Water-lily Dwarf
Nymphaea lotus - Egyptian White Water-lily (lotus small)
Nymphaea lotus var. termalis
Nymphaeae lutea
Nymphaea macrosperma - Native to Australia's Top End
Nymphaea mexicana - Yellow Water-lily
Nymphaea micrantha
Nymphaea nouchali - Red and blue water lily (National flower of Sri Lanka)
Nymphaea odorata - Fragrant Water-lily
Nymphaea pubescens - Hairy water-lily (National flower of Bangladesh)
Nymphaea rubra - India Red Water-lily (red lotus)
Nymphaea rudgeana
Nymphaea stellate
Nymphaea stuhlmannii
Nymphaea sulfurea
Nymphaea tetragona - Pygmy Water-lily (lotus dwarf)
Nymphaea thermarum

The benefits. Lotus plant widely used as an ornamental plant. But other than as an ornamental plant, lotus plant also has efficacy as traditional medicines, among others, can treat diseases, diarrhea, dysentery, leucorrhoea, nasopharynx cancer, fever, insomnia; hypertension, vomiting blood, nosebleeds, coughing up blood, heart disease; Give give, headache, diarrhea and blood urine, anemia, premature ejaculation.

Not lotus Lotus. Some people still confuse and assume the same between the lily (genus Nymphaea) and lotus (genus Nelumbo). Even once considered to be closely related. In fact the two are very different. Different from the lotus flower lotus. In Nelumbo, there are flowers above the water (not floating), pink petals (lily white to yellow), a full circle-shaped leaves and rhizome usually consumed.

Scientific Classification: Kingdom: Plantae; Subkingdom: Tracheobionta (vascular plants); Super Division: Spermatophyta (seed Produce); Division: Magnoliophyta (flowering plants); Class: Magnoliopsida (two pieces / dikotil); Sub Class: Magnoliidae; Order: Nymphaeales ; Family: Nymphaeaceae; Genus: Nymphaea; Species: see the article.

Reference: id.wikipedia.org / wiki / Lotus; commons.wikimedia.org