First Cousins of the Water-Lilies
Victoria species and varieties
>How the Lotus Grows
Cultivation
Available Lotus Varieties
Genus Nuphar-Spatterdock
Nuphar Lotus Varieties
I have heard a dozen people, I suppose, describe the lotus as "a big water-lily." It is not. There is a world of difference, which can be seen at a glance. Blooms and foliage are not formed the same way. Both are much larger than those of water-lilies.
The different species and varieties grow from 2 to 3 feet to 8 to 9 feet high. The leaves, usually bluish-green, are round, often 2 1/2 feet across, and gently frilled at the edge. They are shaped like shallow bowls and without the customary notch at the junction of stem and leaf. Stout stems support the leaves from a central point and usually in a flat position, particularly in uncrowded areas, and the leaves hold rain water for hours after a shower. A leaf and stem look rather like a parasol, and are often so used by our young visitors.
In many species and varieties, leaf surfaces are covered with thin layers of wax, which causes drops of dew and rain to sparkle in the sun and roll around on the leaves like quicksilver-a beautiful sight. In some forms, leaves are covered with a fine, floury nap, which is also waterproof, and dew and rain water spell magic on these plants, too.
The huge and showy blooms, like tremendous, full-blown roses, are frequently 10 to 12 inches across and are borne high above the foliage on long, stout stems. Like those of the water-lilies, lotus blooms open over a period of three days, at first partially and only for a few hours, then for several hours on the second day, and finally, on the third, they unfold completely. After that petals begin to drop away.
Most of the lotus blooms are fragrant, some quite powerfully so. Scents are distinctive and comparable to no other flowers I know. I notice that the fragrance of the lotus is usually described as "mysterious" or "Oriental."
A most interesting feature is the big funnel-shaped pod. At first this is downy and yellow. When it dries, it becomes woody. It has a form much prized for winter bouquets, to which lotus pods give attractive variation.
Plate 30. Like other members of the water-lily family, the lotus lends itself to a variety of interesting forms. This one, Nelumbo pekinensis rubrum flore pleno, is a popular double, with petals of bright rose-carmine surrounding a golden-yellow center.
The lotus reproduces through long, slender rootstocks, a single planting section of which resembles a banana, 12 to 18 inches long, with a tapered growing point at the end. If this is bruised or broken, the rootstock is worthless. Under ideal conditions, a section of rootstock will double its length within a few days. In one season a plant may develop a 20- to 30-foot root, a chainlike structure with the look of a line of bananas, each growing from the tip of the one before.
Once established in the wild state, the lotus develops a special method of self-preservation. Since roots are frost-tender, plants extend root systems deeper and deeper into the mud with the advent of cool weather. By the time frost kills off foliage, the plant will have established a goodly section of root safely below the frost line.
In view of the plant's vigorous spreading habits and stubborn tendency to remain wherever it becomes established, you must always confine the root of the lotus to a planting box when you set it out, unless, of course, you plan to let it take over a vast area of pond. Many water gardeners decorate great sections of their estates beautifully by letting the lotus do just that.