NELUMBO NUCIFERA - SACRED LOTUS. (from .tropilab.com)
 Common name: kamal, renkon, hasu, lian, egyptian lotus, teratai, sacred waterlily, sacred lotus, bunga telpok.
Family: nymphaeaceae or nelumbonaceae.
An aquatic perennial, originally from Indonesia and India.
This plant is growing abundantly in Suriname.
It grows-up to a height of 19 feet depending on the dept of the swamp or creek it is growing in.
The roots of sacred lotus are firmly planted in the mud beneath the water surface and the plant has long stems to which the leaves and flowers are attached.
The big circular leaves are floating at the surface and the flowers above it.
These flowers open early in the morning and can be 9 inches across.
The fruit is a conical shaped pod with the seeds aranged in holes; when the seeds are ripe, they are released because the pod bends downwards to the water.
The pink sacred lotus blooms year around.
The flowers, seeds, young leaves and rhizomes are edible, while the big leaves, 2 feet in diameter, are used to wrap food in.
In the Asian kitchen, the petals are placed in soups or used as garnish.
 The seeds can be roasted while the rhizomes can be boiled.
This plant has also traditional medicinal uses.
Applications are against diarrhea, hemorrhoids; the seeds are used against fever and insomnia.
The flowers are used against syphillis; fruit: the pods are used to stop bleeding.
The petals steeped in wine or tea have a calming effect.
Nichiren Daishonin (One of the great sages of Buddhism 1222-1282) writes: “Of all the flowers, the Buddha selected the lotus blossom to symbolize the Lotus Sutra. There is a reason for this…. The benefit of all the other sutras is uncertain, because they teach that one must first make good causes and only then can one become a Buddha at some later time. With regard to the Lotus Sutra, when one’s hand takes it up, that hand immediately attains Buddhahood, and when one’s mouth chants it, that mouth is itself a Buddha…”
LInks:
The Lotus Sutra - 1
The Lotus Sutra - 2
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