There are many kinds of lotuses, some have ornamental value, and some are edible. Lotuses are native to tropical and temperate regions of Asia. They have been recorded in China as early as the Zhou Dynasty.

The whole lotus is precious, and lotus root and lotus seed can be eaten; lotus seed, rhizome, lotus node, lotus leaf, flower and seed germ can be used as medicine. Lotus’s character of coming out of sludge without being contaminated is always praised by the world.

Lotuses are aquatic plant. They like relatively stable calm shallow water, like lake, swamp, and pond. The water demand of lotuses depends on their variety. At the same time, lotuses are very sensitive to water loss. If there is no irrigation for 3 hours in summer, the lotus leaves planted in the water tank will wither. If there is no water for one day, the lotus leaves will be scorched, and the flower buds will wither. Lotuses also like light very much and needs a full light environment during its growth period. Lotuses are extremely intolerant of shade and will show strong phototaxis when growing in half shade.

Lotuses, known as "living fossil", are one of the earliest angiosperms. Before human beings appeared, about 100000 years ago, most of the earth was covered by oceans, lakes, and swamps. At that time, the climate was warm and humid, and ferns up to tens of meters were all over every corner of the earth. Lotuses withstood the test of nature and survived tenaciously in China's Amur River (now Heilongjiang), the Yellow River, the Yangtze River Basin and swamp lakes in the northern hemisphere.

After about 100 million years, primitive humans began to appear. To survive, human beings collected wild fruits to satisfy their hunger. Soon, they found that the wild fruits and root nodes (i.e., lotus seeds and lotus roots) of this "Lotus" are not only edible, but also sweet, fragrant, and delicious. Gradually, "Lotus", the source of food for human survival, was deeply engraved in the hearts of people's ancestors, primitive humans, and became a symbol of human survival.

Lotus is the seat of Buddha and Bodhisattva in Buddhism. For those who believe in Buddhism, lotus represents holiness, and they try their best to promote that lotus grows out of the mud, but they don't have dirt, and take this innocent and noble spirit as the creed of life. Therefore, the lotus symbolizes holiness.