Lotus is a perennial aquatic herb; Rhizomes are transverse, hypertrophy, swollen internodes, with many longitudinal airways inside, constricted internodes, black scales at the top and hairy adventitious roots at the bottom.
The leaves are round and shield-shaped, with a diameter of 25-90 cm. The surface is dark green, covered with wax white powder, the back is gray-green, the whole edge is slightly wavy, the upper surface is smooth and white powder, and the lower vein is ejected from the center, with 1-2 branches. Petiole is stout, cylindrical, 1-2 meters long, hollow, with scattered thorns outside. Pedicels and petioles are the same length or slightly longer, and there are also scattered spines; Petiole cylindrical, densely barbed.
The flower is solitary at the top of the pedicel, above the water surface, with a diameter of 10-20 cm, beautiful and fragrant; There are single petal, compound petal, double petal and double terrace patterns; Colors are white, pink, crimson, lavender, yellow or intermediate colors; Lotus leaves are oblong-ovoid to obovate, 5- 10 cm long and 3-5 cm wide, gradually decreasing from outside to inside, sometimes becoming stamens, with blunt or slightly pointed apex and many stamens; The pistil is free and buried in the inverted cone sponge receptacle, and there are many scattered honeycomb holes on the receptacle surface. After fertilization, it gradually expands, called lotus, and a small nut (lotus seed) is born in each hole. Anthers are long, filaments are slender and inserted under receptacle; The style is very short, and the top of the column is born; The receptacle (lotus house) is 5- 10 cm in diameter.
Nuts are oval or ovoid, long 1.8-2.5 cm, and the fruits are leathery and hard, and dark brown when ripe; The seed (lotus seed) is ovoid or ovoid, with a length of 1.2- 1.7 cm and a red or white seed coat. The flowering period is from June to September, and it opens and closes every morning. Fruit-bearing period: August -65438+ 10. There are many cultivated varieties of lotus, which can be divided into three systems according to different uses: lotus root, lotus seed and Hualien.
Lotus is an aquatic plant, which likes relatively stable and calm shallow water, lakes, swamps and ponds, and is its suitable habitat. The water demand of lotus depends on its variety. The relative water level of large plant-shaped varieties such as Gulian and Chiba is deep, but it cannot exceed 1.7 meters. Small and medium-sized plant varieties are only suitable for water depth of 20-60 cm. Meanwhile, lotus is very sensitive to water loss. As long as you don't irrigate for three hours in summer, the lotus leaves planted in the water tank will be sluggish. If the water is stopped for one day, the lotus leaves will be burnt and the buds will wither. Lotus is also very fond of light, and it needs a full light environment during its growing period. Lotus is extremely intolerant of shade, so it will show strong phototaxis when it grows in semi-shade.
China is rich in lotus variety resources, with more than 200 traditional varieties and new varieties emerging constantly. The classification of lotus varieties is based on the historical evolution of artificial cultivation of lotus, combined with practical cultivation and application. Species and types are the premise of variety classification, the size of plant type is the first-level classification standard, the double petals of flowers are the second-level classification standard, and the color is the third-level classification standard. Anyone who can bloom in pots (pots) with a diameter less than 26 cm, with an average flower diameter of less than 12 cm, an average vertical leaf diameter of less than 24 cm and an average height of less than 33 cm, is a small variety (bowl lotus); One of them exceeds the index and is included in large and medium-sized plant varieties. According to different uses, it can be divided into three systems: lotus root, lotus seed and Hualien.