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With love and passion, everyone can have a nice garden...Elaine Yim

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Count The Garden By The Flowers, Never By The Leaves That Fall.
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..... Author unknown.

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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Nelumbo nucifera - The Sacred Lotus


First, I'd like to wish all Buddhists a Happy Wesak Day!

The lotus is one of my favourite flowers. It is so beautiful no wonder many Chinese girls are named after this sacred and lovely flower. They have this word, 'Lian' or 'Lin' in their middle or first name. We regard it as an auspicious flower that is holy and pure. It is also the devine symbol of Buddhism

The pink and white lotus is the national flower of India and Vietnam.

“Nelumbo nucifera - The Sacred Lotus”, a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on May 17th, 2011.




The scented flowers attract bumble bees and beatles.


Scientific name: Nelumbo nucifera
Common name: Lotus, Sacred Water Lily
Chinese name: Lian Hua (莲花)
Malay name: Bunga Seroja
Family: Nelumbonaceae
Native of: Tropical Asia and Queensland, Australia

Photograph taken at: Chung Lim Garden Nursery in Klang.



"As a lotus flower is born in water,grows in water and rises out of water to stand above it unsoiled,
so, I born in the world, raised in the world having overcome the world, live unsoiled by the world.
..... Gautama Buddha


Almost all parts of the lotus can be used.

The most precious part is the cut flower which is used as a prayer offering.

The seeds are edible. In the smaller towns where there are lotus ponds, we can still find people such as the street vendors and fruit pedlars who collect the seed pods for sale. During the days of long ago, we can buy the seed pods and bring them in as snacks when we go to the cinema. This is definitely healthier than having pop corn and aerated water. If the pod is too old, the seeds will taste bitter. If the pod is just right, i.e. not too young and not too old, the taste will be just nice i.e. sweet and juicy. Immature seeds are hollow and there is no flesh inside, so we used it as a toy and press it on our heads to make a pop sound. The empty pods can also be used as a toy in child play and the stalks are made into necklaces.

The flesh of the seeds are used in the making of the filling of moon cakes.
Preserved seeds are used in making desert drinks and herbal or medicinal soups.

The dried pods are used in floral arrangements.



Lotus roots are high in nutritional value, hence in Chinese cooking, it is used in stir fries, soups and chips. Lotus root soup is a herbal drink for boosting the imunity system.

During Chinese New Year, it is customary to have lotus roots as a prayer offering. The roots should have at least 3 tiers signifying 3 generations. Of course, more tiers would signify more generations and a longer life, hence prosperity for the family. After prayers, the roots are boiled with pork or chicken, dried dates, wolfberry ( 枸杞 or gǒuqǐ), and dried oysters (蚝豉 or hoe si) to make a delicious soup.  Lotus roots is "lian ou" (莲藕) which also auspiciously sounds like "nian nian you" meaning having something you wish e.g. abundance every year.


Leng Chee Kang is a desert drink (tong sui) with lotus seeds, barley, gingko nuts, snow fungus, dried longan flesh, preserved dates and a quail egg. Some like it hot but I love it with ice cubes.


Lotus Leaf Rice (Hor Yip Fan) is a dim sum dish of steamed glutinuos rice, chicken meat, egg, mushrooms and a few thin slices of Chinese sausages wrapped in lotus leaves.

Long before plastic bags were invented, butchers at the wet market used lotus leaves to wrap raw meat.

I have been invited by Rosie of My Garden Haven blog to participate in her weekly meme, Mission Quite Possible. Mission #2 is "What brings you joy". Her link is here.

This is my entry for My World Tuesday, Season 3, Episode 31 and the link is here.

Updated:
1.  29 May 2011
To see more varieties of lotus flowers, visit Jennifer Zuri's blog 'Aquascape Your Landscape. Her post 'The Lovely Lotus' is here.
2. 18 Jan 2012
To incorporate the meaning of lotus roots for Chinese New Year

32 comments:

  1. Beautifyl photoes of a magnificent flower. And your dishes looks tasty. Wonder if I ever get to taste Lotus?
    Have a wonderful week :)

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  2. Amazing photographs and I enjoyed the post. I learn from you every time I visit your blog. Thanks for that :)

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  3. Marvelous, interesting post as always with breathtaking captures and gorgeous colors! Hope you have a great week!

    Sylvia

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  4. So much info on lotus, especially I like Buddha's quote!

    As an expat in Malaysia, my first choice of local delicacy is lotus root fries and soup:)

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  5. Lotus root chips! Now that's something I hadn't heard of before! Your flower captures are incredible -- especially the side view of the Lotus flower with the bee!

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  6. NEver seen the pink one before. Gorgeous!

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  7. Thank you for submitting this wonderful post on the lotus for MISSION QUITE POSSIBLE, Mission #2. I love this flower too. Your post is most comprehensive, covering even the food aspect! Great job, AB.
    Rosie

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  8. Lotus are truly beautiful! Signifies purity and beauty. Great post, Autumn Belle. Happy Wesak Day!

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  9. What gorgeous shots of this great flower!

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  10. Love that Tong Sui. It's a tiring day for me as we have been preparing for Wesak celebration at our community hall for the convenience of the residence here. Just came home. Hope you have an eventful day too.

    Great post.

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  11. Happy Wesak Day. You are showing lots of my favourite food making me homesick;-) loh. I dream one day I have this plant in my garden.

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  12. A beautiful post. I like the quote from Buddha. The information is fascinating about the lotus - such an exotic flower to us in temperate zones ... And the photos are fantastic!

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  13. A common flower can be that delicately beautiful....

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  14. I have read about the lotus some, but loved your post showing all the different ways it's used. I think this is one of the most beautiful flowers.

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  15. Utterly fascinating!! It's just so exotic and stunning! Thanks for sharing all these great photos and all the info! It's so great to see the process - where the root that sometimes shows up on our dinner plate actually came from - wow!

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  16. happy wesak day. nice blog.. have a view of my blog when free.. do leave me some comment / guide if can.. if interested can follow my blog...

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  17. Love your lotus pixz and also serves as a great reminder would always have in mind that it grows so pure and clean inside the muddy water. tQ.

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  18. I remember about lotus is that its a divine flower because it rises from the depth of the earth and gives out a glorious flower.
    Likewise, our lives though we live in a world of evil but our highest honour comes like a flower - rising above all these and giving that beauty and fragrance to God.

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  19. What an aptly introduction of the lotus, as it is a flower very associated with Buddhism and it was Wesak celebration two days ago!

    I also wanna say thank you for naming the flowers that I found at Bukit Gasing. Your knowledge of plants is very impressive! Thank you, Autumn Belle for the sharing!

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  20. Again I learned something new on your blog :-)

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  21. Lotus flowers are beautiful. I didn't realize the names Lin or Lian referred to the lotus. I've known several Lins, and I'll think about this differently next time I meet someone with those names. :)

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  22. Hello, Autumn Belle !
    Oh, how lovely. Very enchanting pictures...
    Very interesting post. Lotus are truly beautiful - spectacular beauty.

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  23. Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts about the lovely lotus flower here. I have added a link of more beautiful lotus flowers for your viewing pleasure.

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  24. This is a beautiful plant. I have never seen it is such detail! Thank you!

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  25. Autumn Belle,
    I just now realized you posted a link to my blog. Thank you so much! I will post a link to your blog as well and am going to share this on our International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society fan page on Facebook. If you're on Facebook, the link to that fan page is http://www.facebook.com/TheIWGS.

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  26. Jennifer, thank you very much! I'm very honoured and delighted to be associated with your prestigious blog and community.

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  27. Hi!!!! your blog es awesome!!! I´m Carolina from Argentina and I love lotus flowers as well as gardening. I have some lotus at home. Can I share some of your pics on my page in facebook?

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  28. Carolina, Welcome to MNG! Yes, you can share on FB.

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  29. where can i get lotus flower seed ? im staying in melaka been searching for it for quite sometime but till now i havent get one

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    Replies
    1. You can try asking the nursery owner to search for you.

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  30. Hi, I would like to find some lotus plants ... any idea where to get them in Klang Valley?

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    Replies
    1. Pinky, you should be able to get lotus plants in any local nurseries. You can also try Sg Buloh, details are here:

      http://mygardendirectory.blogspot.com/p/selangor-green-lane.html

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