Nelumbo

...It is a perennial aquatic plant of the Nelumbo family cultivated in ponds, rice fields, and ditches, and is familiar to Japanese people as a flower in Buddhist scriptures and as the edible lotus root (illustration). It seems to have been introduced to Japan from the continent long ago, and appears in the Manyoshu under the name of Hachisu. Its English names are (East) Indian lotus, Egyptian lotus, and sacred lotus. Note that lotus is a general term that includes water lilies. The rhizome is white and long and crawls through the mud, and the tip thickens to become lotus root. ...

*Some of the terminology that mentions "Nelumbo" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…池や水田，堀などに栽培されるハス科の多年生水草で，仏典の花として，また食用にするれんこん(蓮根)としても日本人になじみ深い植物である（イラスト）。日本には古く大陸から渡来したらしく，《万葉集》にハチスの名で出てくる。英名は(East) Indian lotus,Egyptian lotus,sacred lotus。なおlotusはスイレンをも含めた総称。根茎は白色で細長く泥中をはい，先端部は肥厚し，れんこんとなる。…

※「Nelumbo」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報