Nelumbo in the context of "Nymphaeaceae"

Aquatic plants, also referred to as hydrophytes, are vascular plants and non-vascular plants that have adapted to live in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater). In lakes, rivers and wetlands, aquatic vegetations provide cover for aquatic animals such as fish, amphibians and aquatic insects, create substrate for benthic invertebrates, produce oxygen via photosynthesis, and serve as food for some herbivorous wildlife. Familiar examples of aquatic plants include waterlily, lotus, duckweeds, mosquito fern, floating heart, water milfoils, mare's tail, water lettuce, water hyacinth, and algae.

Aquatic plants require special adaptations for prolonged inundation in water, and for floating at the water surface. The most common adaptation is the presence of lightweight internal packing cells, aerenchyma, but floating leaves and finely dissected leaves are also common. Aquatic plants only thrive in water or in soil that is frequently saturated, and are therefore a common component of swamps and marshlands.

In chemistry and materials science, ultrahydrophobic (or superhydrophobic) surfaces are highly hydrophobic, i.e., extremely difficult to wet. The contact angles of a water droplet on an ultrahydrophobic material exceed 150°. This is also referred to as the lotus effect, after the superhydrophobic leaves of the lotus plant. A droplet striking these kinds of surfaces can fully rebound like an elastic ball. Interactions of bouncing drops can be further reduced using special superhydrophobic surfaces that promote symmetry breaking, pancake bouncing or waterbowl bouncing.

The lotus effect refers to self-cleaning properties that are a result of ultrahydrophobicity as exhibited by the leaves of Nelumbo, the lotus flower. Dirt particles are picked up by water droplets due to the micro- and nanoscopic architecture on the surface, which minimizes the droplet's adhesion to that surface. Ultrahydrophobicity and self-cleaning properties are also found in other plants, such as Tropaeolum (nasturtium), Opuntia (prickly pear), Alchemilla, cane, and also on the wings of certain insects.

The phenomenon of ultrahydrophobicity was first studied by Dettre and Johnson in 1964 using rough hydrophobic surfaces. Their work developed a theoretical model based on experiments with glass beads coated with paraffin or PTFE telomer. The self-cleaning property of ultrahydrophobic micro-nanostructured surfaces was studied by Wilhelm Barthlott and Ehler in 1977, who described such self-cleaning and ultrahydrophobic properties for the first time as the "lotus effect"; perfluoroalkyl and perfluoropolyether ultrahydrophobic materials were developed by Brown in 1986 for handling chemical and biological fluids. Other biotechnical applications have emerged since the 1990s.

Nelumbonaceae is a family of aquatic flowering plants. Nelumbo is the sole extant genus, containing Nelumbo lutea, native to North America, and Nelumbo nucifera, widespread in Asia. At least five other genera, Nelumbites, Exnelumbites, Paleonelumbo, Nelumbago, and Notocyamus are known from fossils.

Nelumbonaceae were once included in the waterlily family, Nymphaeaceae. Genetic analysis determined that the similarities between the families are an example of convergent evolution. Nelumbonaceae are highly modified eudicots belonging to the order Proteales, their closest living relatives being the plane trees (Platanaceae) and Proteaceae. Notocyamus from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil is the oldest known representative of the family, and displays several transitional traits between Nelumbonaceae and both the Proteaceae and Platanaceae.

Lotus identifies various plant taxa:

• Nelumbo, a genus of aquatic plants with showy flowers known as lotuses, having two extant species:
  • Nelumbo nucifera, the Sacred or Indian lotus
  • Nelumbo lutea, the American or yellow lotus
• Certain species of Nymphaea, a genus of aquatic plants known as water lilies, are also known as Egyptian lotus or Egyptian water lily:
  • Nymphaea caerulea, also known as blue lotus
  • Nymphaea lotus, white lotus or sacred lotus
  • Nymphaea nouchali, also known as blue or star lotus (sometimes thought to be the same species as Nymphaea caerulea above)
• Lotus, a terrestrial genus of legumes with small flowers, including bird's-foot trefoils and deervetches
• Certain species of Saussurea, a genus of herbaceous plant, are known as snow lotus, particularly those from the Himalayan vicinity
• Ziziphus lotus, a shrub species with edible fruit
• Diospyros lotus, a tree with edible fruit known as the date-plum or Caucasian persimmon

Nelumbo lutea is a species of flowering plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. Common names include American lotus, yellow lotus, water-chinquapin, and volée. It is native to North America. The botanical name Nelumbo lutea Willd. is the currently recognized name for this species, which has been classified under the former names Nelumbium luteum and Nelumbo pentapetala, among others.