Proteales is an order of flowering plants consisting of three (or four) families. The Proteales have been recognized by almost all taxonomists.
The representatives of the Proteales can be very different from each other due to their very early divergence. They possess seeds with little or no endosperm. The ovules are often atropic.
Nelumbo nucifera, also known as Padma (Sanskrit: पद्म, romanized: Padmā, lit. 'Lotus') or Kamala (Sanskrit: कमल, lit. 'Lotus'), sacred lotus, pink lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often refers to members of the family Nymphaeaceae. The lotus belongs in the order Proteales.
Lotus plants are adapted to grow in the flood plains of slow-moving rivers and delta areas. Stands of lotus drop hundreds of thousands of seeds every year to the bottom of the pond. While some sprout immediately and most are eaten by wildlife, the remaining seeds can remain dormant for an extensive period of time as the pond silts in and dries out. During flood conditions, sediments containing these seeds are broken open, and the dormant seeds rehydrate and begin a new lotus colony. It is cultivated in nutrient-rich, loamy, and often flooded soils, requiring warm temperatures and specific planting depths, with propagation via rhizomes, seeds, or tissue culture, and is harvested by hand or machine for stolons, flowers, seeds, and rhizomes over several months depending on climate and variety.
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.
The Proteaceae /ˌproʊtiˈeɪsiː/ form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentrations of diversity. Together with the Platanaceae (plane trees), Nelumbonaceae (the sacred lotus) and in the recent APG IV system the Sabiaceae, they make up the order Proteales. Well-known Proteaceae genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea, Hakea, and Macadamia. Species such as the New South Wales waratah (Telopea speciosissima), king protea (Protea cynaroides), and various species of Banksia, Grevillea, and Leucadendron are popular cut flowers. The nuts of Macadamia integrifolia are widely grown commercially and consumed, as are those of Gevuina avellana on a smaller scale.
Platanaceae, the plane family, is a family of flowering plants in the order Proteales. The family consists of only a single extant genus Platanus, with twelve known species. The plants are tall trees, native to temperate and subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The hybrid London plane is widely planted in cities worldwide.