An aquatic
herb with peltate leaves borne above and floating on the water. Flowers
are solitary, bisexual and regular. Fruit is a nut; many in a receptacle.
The edible rhizome is submerge in mud.
Origin
Nelumbo nucifera: Lotus. Its rhizomes are eaten as a vegetable.
This aquatic
plant is indigenous in Asia, from Persia to China and Japan as well as
in North eastern Australia. It has been cultivated in China since the
12th century BC. It has been grown in Egypt since ancient times; this
was probaly brought in through Persia during the Persian conquest.
Uses
Seeds
The rhizome
and "seeds" have both been eaten as food for thousands of years. The young
rhizome when harvested for eating, tastes like artichokes. The older ones
are considered diuretic. Rhizomes are harvested all year round and contain
an abundance of starch. Ripe seeds are prepared by removing the seedcoat
and the intensely bitter plumule and then boiled in syrup. Slightly unripe
seeds are also eaten raw.
Green - Seeds Co., Ltd. 81/10B Ho Van Hue Street, Phu Nhuan District, Ward 9, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Tel: +84 (8) 847 6901 - Fax: +84 (8) 844 1392 - Email: info@green-seeds.com
