Nelumbo is a genus of water flowers commonly known as "Indian lotuses" and closely related to the water lilies (or "Egyptian lotuses") of genus Nymphaea. Nelumbo is what is most commonly meant by the rather ambiguous term lotus.
The leaves of Nelumbo can be distinguished from Nymphaea as they are peltate, that is they have fully circular lilypads. Nymphaea, on the other hand, have a single characteristic notch from the edge in to the center of the lilypad.
The central seed pod of Nelumbo is also quite distinguishing.
Nelumbo nucifera is particularly well known as it is the sacred flower of Hinduism and Buddhism and is the national flower of India. It is also used widely in Asian cooking.
