Lotus seed is the dry and mature seed of lotus. Distributed in northern and southern provinces of China. Has the effects of invigorating spleen and kidney, nourishing heart and calming nerves.
Lotus, also known as lotus and lotus root. It is a plant of the genus Nelumbo in the family Nelumbo.
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 to 90 cm. The surface is dark green, covered with waxy white powder, the back is grayish green, the whole edge is slightly wavy, the upper surface is smooth, and the lower vein shoots outward from the center, with 1 to 2 forks. Petiole stout, cylindrical, 1 to 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.
Flowers are solitary at the top of pedicel, above the water surface, with a diameter of 10 to 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 to 10 cm long and 3 to 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 pollination, 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 room) is 5 to 10 cm in diameter.
Nuts are oval or ovoid, with a length of 1.8 to 2.5 cm, and the fruits are leathery, hard and dark brown when ripe; Seeds (lotus seeds) are 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. The fruiting period is August-June 5438+00. 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 one of the oldest dicotyledonous plants, and also has some characteristics of monocotyledonous plants. The embryo of lotus is wrapped in scales, similar to monocotyledonous plants. From the flower structure, the lotus has three or four layers of perianth, sepal outer wheel, petal inner wheel, many stamens, free pistil and single channel boat-shaped pollen grains. Lotus stems have obvious segmentation phenomenon, and the underground stems are covered with fibrous roots. These are the characteristics of monocots. Lotus buds are mixed buds, and the lotus buds people see are the top buds of lotus root and the positions of axillary buds of each node. Roots are divided into seed roots and adventitious roots. The main root formed by seed radicle is underdeveloped, and the adventitious root plays a functional role. Lotus root, the stem of lotus, is the underground rhizome of lotus, which is an organ for storing nutrients and reproducing. Lotus is a solitary bisexual flower, which consists of calyx, corolla, stamen group, pistil group, receptacle and pedicel. Variety and rich colors.
Lotus is an aquatic flower that steals roots. Lotus root is the underground big stem of lotus, which grows horizontally in the mud. There are many holes of different sizes in the cross section of lotus root, which is the air cavity formed by lotus to adapt to life in water. This kind of air cavity can also be seen in petioles and pedicels. There are also many small ducts for transporting water on the stem, and the walls of the ducts are attached with thickened mucilage lignocellulose. It has a certain elasticity, and many white lotus roots appear when it is broken and stretched. Old lotus root has more silk than micro lotus root. The terminal bud of seed lotus root is called "lotus root", and it is covered with scales. After germination, white slender underground stems are drawn out, which is called "lotus root band". Lotus root band is segmented, and adventitious roots are surrounded by nodes. During festivals, leaves and flowers are drained. The new lotus root formed at the top of the lotus root belt is called the main lotus root. The vigorous lotus root has 4 to 7 lotus root tubes, each with a length of 10 to 25 cm and a diameter of about 6 to 12 cm. The branch of the main lotus root is called the secondary lotus root; The young onion that grows again from the sub-lotus root is called Sun Lotus Root, which is often only 1 node. The size, shape, color, morning and evening, depth of mud, quality and flavor of lotus root vary from variety to variety, and are also affected by cultivation and conditions.