fruit · The Trophy Room
Lotus
The sacred plant of Asia, and edible root to seed. The lotus rises pristine out of muddy water on tall stalks, and nearly every part feeds people — the crunchy lace-holed root, the pea-like green seeds popped from that alien showerhead pod, the young leaves and stems. Beauty and pantry in one plant.
Identifying
- huge round leaves held above the water on tall stalks, beading water like mercury
- the famous flat-topped seed pod like a showerhead, each hole holding a green seed
- underwater, a chain of sausage-shaped roots riddled with lengthwise air holes
- pink or white many-petaled flowers before the pod forms
Facts
- lotus seeds have sprouted after more than a thousand years in dormancy — among the longest-lived seeds known
- the leaf's self-cleaning water-repellency (the "lotus effect") inspired real waterproof coatings
- root, seed, stem, and leaf are all eaten across China, Vietnam, and India
