It’s tiring to drill holes in lotus roots, and it’s even more tiring to drill holes in lotus stems!

The lotus is a symbol of purity, representing the character of being untainted by mud, and it also has a certain status in various Asian religions. However, when it comes to lotus, we simple foodies will only think of "the whole body is a treasure". From its light and fragrant petals, to the tall and graceful lotus leaves, to the tender and crisp lotus stems that grow lotus leaves and flowers, and even the lotus roots used to store nutrients in winter, none of them can escape the Chinese table.

The Lotus that is Pure and Unstained in the Mud｜iWallHD

The fate of the lotus is tragic, but it has also led to countless varieties of it being cultivated and widely planted in fields, rivers and lakes from south to north in eastern Asia.

Lotus root and lotus root

As one of the plants we are most familiar with, lotus is not only a common food ingredient, but also a commonly used ornamental plant. It also appears as a cultural symbol in various ethnic groups. But it still has many unknown secrets. This may be because most of the lotus rhizomes are completely submerged in the river mud, so we rarely have the opportunity to see its full appearance when it grows.

Lotus roots submerged in river mud｜Yu Tianyi

In fact, the leaves and flowers of lotus are not directly attached to the lotus root. The top of the seed lotus root (last year's lotus root) has a terminal bud, which will stretch into a lotus root belt at the beginning of the spring and summer growth period. The lotus root belt formed by the terminal bud takes root and is called the main lotus root whip. Leaf buds or flower buds will grow on each node of the main lotus root whip, and new lotus root belts will grow on these nodes. When they touch the ground and take root, they become side lotus root whips. In this way, the lotus expands its territory in the mud at the bottom of the water in two dimensions and multiple angles, and reproduces asexually.

Lotus root, which takes root and forms lotus root whip｜SawinShare

In autumn and winter, the top of the lotus root will grow back leaves (expanded) and terminal leaves (not expanded). The lotus root section between the terminal leaf and back leaves (back section), as well as the lotus root section after the terminal leaf, will synthesize starch with monosaccharides, accumulate nutrients, and swell to form lotus roots. The lotus root that forms lotus roots will still grow side lotus root sections between the nodes and swell into lotus roots. These lotus roots are called son lotus roots and grandson lotus roots.

This is what it looks like | Temperate Climate Permaculture

In addition to the lotus root that is responsible for storing nutrients, the lotus leaves, lotus pods and unrooted lotus stems will wither in winter, while the lotus root whips will always exist. However, some lotuses living in the tropics do not need to store nutrients to survive the harsh winter and skip the stage of growing lotus roots, so some tropical lotuses only have lotus root whips but do not produce lotus roots.

Lotus that traveled through time and space

As an emergent plant that can only grow in water, each organ of the lotus has a hollow structure - in addition to the lotus roots we have all seen, the lotus stems, lotus whips, petioles and even lotus pods are hollow. The hollow structure in the lotus roots, lotus stems and petioles can help the lotus breathe in the water and mud. The spongy structure of the lotus pod stores a lot of air, allowing the lotus pod to float on the water for a long time after falling, which helps the lotus spread its seeds to farther places.

Hollow Air Cavity｜Yu Tianyi

Lotus seeds can survive in mud for thousands of years after falling off, so we can find still-viable lotus seeds in ancient ruins today and successfully grow ancient lotus.

There are many ancient lotus varieties now, some of which are derived from ancient lotus seeds (ancient lotus) discovered by Chinese scholars in the peat of Pulandian, Liaoning, some are ancient lotus varieties from the Tang Dynasty preserved in Japan (Datang Zhaoti Temple Lotus), some are derived from ancient lotus seeds discovered in Japan (Dahe Lotus), and there is also the Sino-Japanese Friendship Lotus, which is a hybrid of ancient lotuses from China and Japan. Just like viewing exhibits in a museum, we can feel the real historical atmosphere from these plants that have traveled through time and space.

Lotus and water lily are not the same family

After such a long period of cultivation, lotus has many varieties for different uses.

Lotus root varieties are specially used for lotus root harvesting. There are different varieties of lotus root varieties in different regions of the south. Lotus root varieties with pink flowers are more common, while Hubei, which has the largest lotus root production, features white lotuses from Honghu Lake. Most of these lotus root flowers are single-petaled. Flower lotuses used for viewing flowers have a variety of colors and flower shapes. According to the plant type and flower size, they can be divided into large and medium flower groups and small flower groups (bowl lotus). According to the number of petals, they can be divided into single-petal lotus, double-petal lotus, double-petal lotus and double-layer lotus (lotus pod petalization). In addition, there are seed lotuses specially used for harvesting seeds.

Single-petal lotus "Buddha laughs"｜Yu Tianyi

Double-petaled lotus "Apricot blossoms and spring rain"｜Yu Tianyi

The genus Lotus originally belonged to the Nymphaeaceae family, but with the development of taxonomy, people realized that although lotus and water lily are similar in appearance, it is only because they live in similar environments and have undergone convergent evolution.

As can be seen in the picture, the structure of the reproductive organs of lotus is very different from that of water lilies. Currently, lotus belongs to the Nelumbo family of the Proteaceae order. There is only one genus in the Nelumbo family, and there are only two species in the genus Nelumbo. In addition to the lotus we are familiar with, the other species is the American golden lotus. After the American golden lotus was added to the breeding of Hualien, a new golden lotus strain and a Sino-US hybrid lotus strain were formed.

The picture shows the cross-section of the white water lily (top) and the lotus (bottom). You can see the difference between the receptacle of the water lily and the receptacle of the lotus｜Yu Tianyi

Why is there a thread when the lotus root is broken?

The fresh lotus roots you see in the market and the lotus root powder used for drinking in supermarkets come from different varieties of lotus roots. The variety used to make lotus root powder has a higher starch content, while the variety used to pick fresh lotus roots has a higher water content. Even so, only the fresh lotus roots (young lotus roots) harvested in late July are the most tender and crisp - although lotus roots can be harvested all year round, the taste of those old lotus roots is a bit floury.

Harvesting lotus roots｜AliExpress.com

During transportation, the outer skin of lotus root may turn black because the polyphenols in it are oxidized into quinones. When the soup is heated for a long time, it will turn red because the proanthocyanidins in the lotus root are oxidized by heat. The silk in lotus root is actually the wall of the spiral duct (annular wall) in the internal transport tissue. After the duct wall is broken and stretched, it will be stretched like a spring.

Lotus root shreds｜Yu Tianyi

Cut the lotus root into slices and add sugared osmanthus to make osmanthus sugared lotus root; or cook it with various meats into soup; if you don’t want to heat it for a long time and prefer its crispness, you can also stir-fry it into a lotus pond dish with the flavor of water people, which are all quite elegant ways of eating.

Sweet Osmanthus Glutinous Rice Lotus Root｜Yu Tianyi

Lotus Pond Stir-Fry｜Yu Tianyi

Lotus is full of treasures

When fresh, lotus leaves can be used to hold water or for viewing. Their unforgettable fresh smell will not disappear after drying, and will be revived after adding water and heating, so steaming them is the most respectful way to eat them. Ingredients steamed in lotus leaves have the fresh scent of lotus ponds in summer. Lotus leaf glutinous rice chicken and lotus leaf glutinous rice spareribs are common ways to eat them.

Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice Chicken｜Yu Tianyi

Lotus stems are a snack that can only be found in the south. As they are a delicacy from the water and are extremely crisp, tender and delicious, they are often used to make appetizers.

Spicy and Sour Lotus Root｜Yu Tianyi

The "heart" of lotus seeds is bitter, and this bitterness can be seen as a warning to those who eat them by mistake, but some people prefer this bitter taste, believing that bitterness represents "removing internal heat". Perhaps most people don't like to eat the lotus heart when eating lotus seeds, so there are lotus seeds without the heart. In fact, the lotus seeds in the lotus pods that have just been picked are also slightly sweet, and you can't stop eating them. This is a benefit that only comes from being near the water.

Lotus seeds, as a high-starch food, are commonly used in porridge, such as the lily and lotus seed porridge with two bitter flavors.

Green bean, lily and lotus seed porridge made with cored lotus seeds｜Yu Tianyi

Author: Yu Tianyi

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