Brief introduction to the basic structure of lotus.

Lotus is an aquatic flower that steals roots. Lotus root is the underground big stem of lotus, which grows horizontally in the mud. There are many holes of different sizes in the cross section of lotus root, which is the air cavity formed by lotus to adapt to life in water. This kind of air cavity can also be seen in petioles and pedicels. There are also many small ducts for transporting water on the stem, and the walls of the ducts are attached with thickened mucilage lignocellulose. There is a certain elasticity, and many white lotus roots appear when the fracture is elongated. Old lotus root has more silk than micro lotus root. The terminal bud of seed lotus root is called "lotus root", and it is covered with scales. After germination, white slender underground stems are drawn out, which is called "lotus root band". Lotus root band is segmented, and adventitious roots are surrounded by nodes. During festivals, leaves and flowers are drained. The new lotus root formed at the top of the lotus root belt is called the main lotus root. The vigorous lotus root has 4-7 lotus root tubes, each with a length of10-25cm and a diameter of about 6-12cm. The branch of the main lotus root is called the secondary lotus root; The young onion that grows again from the sub-lotus root is called Sun Lotus Root, which is often only 1 node. The size, shape, color, morning and evening, depth of mud, quality and flavor of lotus root vary from variety to variety, and are also affected by cultivation and conditions. The leaves are large, with a diameter of 70 cm, and the whole plant is shield-shaped with radial veins 14-2l. The leaves are dark green and rough, covered with short and blunt thorns. There is a layer of waxy white powder between thorns, so rain can condense into rolling water drops.

The so-called "falling beads are broken and round" (Tang Du Fu's poem) celebrates the unique dynamic landscape of lotus after rain. The back of the leaves is green, smooth and hairless, the veins are raised, and there is a cylindrical petiole in the center to clean and jerk the lotus leaves. There are dense spines on the stalk, the joint between the petiole and the underground stem is white, and the water and water are divided into green.

There are three kinds of leaves: the leaves produced by Mr. Ding Ya, which are small in shape and thin in handle and float on the water surface, are called money leaves or money leaves; The first leaves that grow from the lotus root are slightly larger and also float on the water, which is called floating leaves; Later, the leaves protruding from the lotus root were called vertical leaves. Whether it is money leaves, floating leaves or vertical leaves, they are all rolled into ribbed strips before they come out of the water. The size, height and sequence of vertical leaves show obvious ascending and descending steps with the growth time. When the new lotus root is formed, the erect leaves pulled out are bigger than the previous one, but the thorns are shorter, which is called "dorsal leaf". A small leaf with short stem and reddish back appears in front of it, which is called "terminal leaf". Only by identifying the terminal leaves can people find the position of the new lotus root in the mud.

The flower primordium of lotus is planted in the bud of lotus root area, on the back of the base of young leaves; Flowers solitary, bisexual; Sepals 4-5, green, falling off after flowering; The battalion commander is peach-shaped, peach-shaped or round-peach-shaped, dark purple or grayish green; Flowers can be divided into single petals, compound petals, double petals and thousand petals, and the colors are crimson, pink, white, brownish green and intermediate colors. The flowering period is from June to September, and the single flowering period is only 3-4 days, most of which are closed at noon, and thousands of petals can be opened 10 days or more; The largest flower diameter can reach 30 cm, and the smallest is less than 10 cm; Stamens 60-450 or petaloid, anther fragments yellow, filaments white; The head of the school is born, the ovary is superior, the carpels are separated, and they are scattered in the bowl-shaped and trumpet-shaped green receptacle. The swollen receptacle after withering is called lotus, which has 3-30 lotus cells. When it develops normally, each carpel forms an oval nut. Sometimes carpels are "blistered" or petal-shaped and cannot form fruits. This kind of fruit, commonly known as lotus seed, has a turquoise skin when it is green and turns dark blue when it matures. There are stomata and guard cells on the surface of pericarp, solid and dense palisade tissue under epidermis, and stomatal channels under stomata. The stomatal passage of mature lotus seed peel is very small, which hinders the free entry and exit of air and water, and even hinders the entry of microorganisms. This special organizational structure ensures the longevity of lotus seeds. It can be buried in the stratum for thousands of years without being destroyed, and can even be used for sowing and germination.