Nelumbo Lutea: The American Yellow Lotus

The American lotus, otherwise known as yellow lotus, volée, water-chinquapin and the scientific name, Nelumbo lutea, is an aquatic plant native to North America. It grows as a carpet of beautiful yellow flowers with windswept, umbrella-like, large green leaves and shower-head–like seed pods on bodies of water. I developed this project to document the natural history of this beautiful American lotus over several summers. I took the photographs below on Lake Manawa in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Carter Lake in Carter Lake, Iowa. Learn more about the wide spectrum of life for this flower .

These four photos are representative of the various stages of the plant: