Yellow Lotus or American Lotus
Nelumbo
lutea
This is a native plant and only found
in one cove of Lake Norman.
The American Lotus is native from the
Great Lakes south to Florida and west to Texas.
Its flowers
are extremely large, typically six inches wide. Flowers
are luminescent yellow with many petals and stamens.
American lotus leaves
are circular, and do not have a "cut", as
do water lily leaves. The lotus leaf is on a long, stiff
stalk that
is connected to the leaf at the very center of the leaf,
umbrella-like. American lotus seedpods
are sold as ornamental items.
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Photo taken on Lake Norman, Summer of 2000
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