Lotus (Scientific Name: Nymphaea tetragona): The lotus is a perennial floating-leaf aquatic herb, with a thick rhizome that is either upright or creeping. The leaves are of two types: floating leaves float on the water surface, round, elliptical, or ovate, with rounded tips and deeply cleft bases into horseshoe or heart shapes, with wavy or entire margins or teeth; submerged leaves are thin and delicate. Flowers are solitary, vary in size and color, and bloom either floating or emergent; there are 4 sepals and many petals and stamens. The fruit is a juicy berry that matures in water and cracks irregularly; the seeds are hard, deep green or dark brown, encased in a gelatinous coat, with a false seed coat. Different varieties exhibit varying morphological characteristics.