Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn., Nelumbonaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: East Indian lotus, lotus, lotusroot, oriental lotus, sacred lotus

French: fève d'Egypte, lotus indien, lotus sacré

Spanish: loto sagrado, rosa del Nilo

Habit:  aquatic herb

Description:  "Leaves: petiole to 2 m or more. Leaf blade to 6 dm or more. Flowers: tepals normally all caducous, pink, pink-tinged, or fading to white, 1-13 cm; anthers 1-2 cm. Fruits ovoid, 10-20 " 7-13 mm, mostly more than 1.5 times longer than wide; receptacle to 1 dm diam. at maturity, gradually tapered or rounded from flattened top to base, base rounded or very slightly obtuse-tapered, lateral surface rugose or only weakly striate." (Flora of North America)

Habitat/ecology:  Aquatic herb.  In Papua New Guinea (native), "a lowland species that occurs in shallow sheltered waters of lakes, usually growing in mud to a depth of up to 2 m.  In favourable conditions it may crowd out other aquatic vegetation"  (Conn, 1995; p. 190).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Tropical and temperate Asia, from Iran eastward to China and Japan, also northern Australia, Papuasia, and widely introduced and established elsewhere" (Howard, 1988; pp. 215-216).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		McCormack, Gerald (2008)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 296-297)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 296-297)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawaiian Islands	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. (2000) (p. 25)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced cultivated	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2008) (p. Voucher specimens) Voucher cited: Pearsall s.n. (BISH 615506)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 107) Vouchers cited: MacKee 46073, MacKee 46147
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	Conn, Barry J., ed. (1995) (pp. 190-191)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Northern Territory	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)		Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (p. 67)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
North Korea North Korea	North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
South Korea South Korea	South Korea (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)

Additional information:
Additional online information about Nelumbo nucifera is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Nelumbo nucifera as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Nelumbo nucifera may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Conn, Barry J., ed. 1995. Handbooks of the flora of Papua New Guinea, vol. 3. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne. 292 pp.

Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993. Flora of North America North of Mexico (online edition).

Florence, J. 2004. Flore de la Polynésie française, Vol. 2. Paris. IRE Editions, Publications Scientifiques, Collection Faune et Flore Tropicales 41. 503 pp.

Howard, Richard A. 1988. Flora of the Lesser Antilles: Leeward and Windward Islands. Vol. 4, Dicotyledoneae-Part 1. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. 673 pp.

Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2008. Annotated checklist of cultivated plants of Hawai‘i (online searchable database).

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

McCormack, Gerald. 2008. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. 2000. Survey of invasive or potentially invasive cultivated plants in Hawai‘i. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers No. 65. 35 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2008. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Waterhouse, D. F. 1993. The major invertebrate pests and weeds of agriculture in Southeast Asia. The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra. 141 pp.

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.