Seeds, rhizomes, moisture, sunlight and muddy soil, humble components that evolved into a mythical symbol, a spectacular water lily, the renowned, coveted and treasured lotus flower. Eighty species of water lilies are grown, eaten and appreciated around the world, but none as spectacular as the Asian lotus.
Water lilies are unusual in many ways. The long stalks rise from their root systems, actually underwater rhizomes that grow on the bottom of a muddy pond or lake, bursting through the water’s surface. Waxy-coated leaves float on the lake or pond surface, repel water and keep the upper surface of the plant dry. Most plants produce stomata on the undersides of their leaves to absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen, both needed for the plant’s food production cycle. Lotus plants, by contrast, have their stomata on the upper sides of their leaves, exposed to the air.
Chinese people make use of all parts of Lotus – the roots, fruit, seeds (eaten cooked or raw) and the leaves. Traditional Chinese medicine considers the lotus root, having a slightly sweet taste, as “cool.”
Its consumption is supposed to benefit liver function and is said to strengthen the heart, spleen and stomach. Uncooked lotus root juice clears “heat” and stops all internal bleeding; cooked lotus root can “promote blood,” treat women for anemia from heavy menstruation and at the same time clear and improve energy,
How to Get Food From a Lotus Plant
Learn how to positively identify a lotus plant. The lotus comes in two categories: one sporting pink flowers and the other boasting yellow flowers,and beautiful flowers they are, with large, luminescent petals, often of multiple layers.
Lotus leaves, richly green, can grow to be very large--even 4 or 5 feet in diameter, and float atop the surface of freshwater lakes and ponds, like the leaves of any water lily.
Locate a lotus plant. The lotus can be found throughout North America (where the yellow-flowered species is from) and east and south Asia (where the pink-flowered species is from). In truth, the lotus has by now been widely spread across the world.
Harvest the lotus leaves. These can be rinsed and eaten raw or boiled in a pot of water and eaten like any other green vegetable.
Harvest the lotus flower. Rinse it with water and eat raw.
Harvest the stem and roots of the lotus. The latter will have to be dug out of the mud. These parts of the plant are fleshy and starch-filled and can be rinsed and eaten raw, boiled and consumed like a vegetable or even baked and eaten like meat.
