Nelumbonaceae
Sacred lotus
Nelumbo nucifera
- Family
- Nelumbonaceae
- Genus
- Nelumbo
Pets and kids
- CatsNot sure
- DogsNot sure
- KidsNot sure
Why
Cats: Not sure
We found no reliable source on this plant for cats, so we don't call it safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked with your vet.
Dogs: Not sure
We found no reliable source on this plant for dogs, so we don't call it safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked with your vet.
Kids: Not sure
We found no reliable source on this plant for young children, so we don't call it safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked with a doctor or poison control.
Ate some? Call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 (a fee may apply). For a child, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US). If they are struggling to breathe or collapse, call 911. Don't give anything by mouth unless a vet or poison expert tells you to.
Is yours looking unwell? Scan your plant — free
Common names
By language (22)
- Arabic
- الدر الري, الضال, الفول المصري, اللوتس المقدس, باقلي قبطي, جامسة, نيلم نيلمي, نيلم هندي
- arz
- لوتس مقدس
- Asturian
- Lotu sagráu
- Bangla
- কমল
- Basque
- Indiako loto, Indiar loto, Loto
- Bulgarian
- Свещен лотос
- Chinese
- 石莲子, 芙蓉, 芙蕖, 荷, 荷叶, 荷叶蒂, 荷梗, 荷花
- Dutch
- Indische lotus
- English
- Sacred lotus, Bean of India, East Indian lotus, Indian lotus, Lotus, Lotus flower, Pudma
- French
- Fève d'Égypte, Lotus d'Orient, Lotus de l'Inde, Lotus des Indes, Lotus Magnolia, Racine de lotus
- German
- Indischer Lotos
- Hebrew
- לוטוס
- Japanese
- はす, 蓮, 蓮の花
- Korean
- 연
- Latvian
- Lotoss
- Macedonian
- Лотос, Оревоносен лотос
- Malay
- Teratai
- nan
- Lian Huay, Liân-hue
- shn
- မူဝ်, မူဝ်ပတူင်ႇမႃႇ, မူဝ်ပတူးမႃး
- Slovenian
- Indijski lotos, Sveti lotos
- Spanish
- Loto indio, Loto sagrado, Rosa del Nilo
- Telugu
- తామర
Synonyms
- Nelumbium album Bercht. & J.Presl
- Nelumbium asiaticum Rich.
- Nelumbium caspicum Fisch. ex DC.
- Nelumbium caspium Eichw.
- Nelumbium discolor Steud.
- Nelumbium indicum Poir.
- Nelumbium javanicum Poir.
- Nelumbium marginatum Steud.
- Nelumbium nelumbo (L.) Druce
- Nelumbium rheedei C.Presl
- Nelumbium speciosum Willd.
- Nelumbium speciosum f. caspicum (DC.) Regel
- Nelumbium speciosum unranked album-plenum Jekyll & E.T.Cook
- Nelumbium speciosum unranked roseum-plenum Jekyll & E.T.Cook
- Nelumbium speciosum var. caspicum DC.
- Nelumbium speciosum var. tamara DC.
- Nelumbium tamara (DC.) Sweet
- Nelumbium transversum C.Presl
- Nelumbium turbinatum Blanco
- Nelumbium venosum C.Presl
- Nelumbo caspica Schipcz.
- Nelumbo caspica Fisch.
- Nelumbo caspica (DC.) Fisch. ex Hoffm.
- Nelumbo indica Pers.
- Nelumbo komarovii Grossh.
- Nelumbo nelumbo (L.) H.Karst.
- Nelumbo nucifera var. macrorhizomata Nakai
- Nelumbo speciosa Willd.
- Nelumbo speciosa var. alba F.M.Bailey
- Nelumbo speciosa var. caspica DC.
- Nelumbo speciosa var. tamara DC.
- Nymphaea nelumbo L.
- Tamara alba Roxb. ex Steud.
- Tamara hemisphaerica Buch.-Ham. ex Pritz.
- Tamara rubra Roxb. ex Steud.
Characteristics
- Growth habit
- Forb/herb
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- In the US and Canada
- Lower 48 states: introduced
Photos
Photo: T.Voekler, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: cultivar413, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: cultivar413, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
More in Nelumbo
Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.