Lotus, Flower having many mystery Inside.....And Beautiful Look....

LOTUS
Of all the spectacular Flowering plants found in India, Lotus is the one that eloquently conjures up the spirit of typically religious India. Lotus is the National Flower of India. It is the aquatic plant with broad floating leaves and beautiful pinkish flower..

Other names : Ambal, Thamarai, Suriya kamal, Padma, Ambuja, Pankaja, Blue Lotus, Indian Lotus, Sacred Water lily, bean of India, Kamala, Kanwal, Kamal are the other names used for the Lotus.


CLASSIFICATION

Kingdom :	Plantae
Division	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order :	Proteales
Family :	Nelumbonaceae
Genus :	Nelumbo
Species :	N. nucifera
Scientific Name :	Nelumbo nucifera
Found In :	Bandhavgarh National Park

Description : Lotus is the water plant. It has broad floating leaves and bright fragrant flowers. The leaves and flowers float and have long stems that contain air spaces. It has many petals overlapping in the symmetrical pattern.he root functions of the Lotus are carried out by rhizomes that fan out horizontally through the mud below the water. The round leaves are upto 50 cm in diameter. The flowers are rosy pink with little bit of white shade. The seeds are hard and dark brown in colour. They can vary in shape from round to oval to oblong. The Lotus Flower opens in the morning and the petals fall in the afternoon.


Other Species : Nymphaea caerulea is the other specie of Lotus.

Cultivation methods : Lotus is mostly propagated through the seeds. It is grown in the damp soil. It requires Sunlight atleast six hours a day. The Lotus plant should be fertilized regularly for one year. It is important to protect Lotus from freezing. It should be given proper light.

Medicinal uses : Lotus seeds are classified as astringent and benefits kidney, spleen, and heart. The astringent helps loss of kidney essence. The seeds are used to treat weak sexual function in men and leukorrhea in women. The seeds also helps in curing restlessness, palpitation and insomnia. Inside the seed is the green embryo the benefits the heart. The Lotus disorders are helpful in heart and liver disorders. It is prescribes as an antidote for mushroom poisoning. The leaves are used in combination with the other herbs to treat sunstroke, dysentery, fever and vomiting blood.

Other uses : The seeds of the Lotus are edible. The leaf and leaf stalk are eaten as vegetable in India. The tubers of the Lotus taste like the sweet potato. Its petals are used for garnish and the large leaves are used as the wrap for the leaves. Its seeds called Phool Mukhana are used in the Indian cooking.