Varieties

The genus Nelumbo includes two similar species, both commonly known as lotus. The recipes in this book call for the commercially cultivated Asian species, N. nucifera. Its edible parts include the young root (technically rhizome), the flower, the stem, and the leaf. The second species, N. lutea, commonly known as water-chinquapin, water-nut, duck acorn, American marsh lotus, and nelumbo, is native to the eastern and southern parts of the United States, from Florida to Texas. Native American women traditionally gathered the roots, roasting them like potatoes and using the seeds in a variety of ways, including grinding them for flour.