The Botanical Name for Blue Lotus is Nelumbo nucifera. It is also known as Indian Lotus, Sacred Lotus, Bean of India or just simply Lotus and despite what people think, the flower of the plant which is what people most associate with the name Lotus isn’t blue at all.

It is an aquatic plant as most people know and its seeds may remain viable for many years, with the oldest recorded lotus germination being from that of seeds 1,300 years old recovered from a dry lake bed in northeastern China!

Two types of dried lotus seeds are commercially available; brown peel (this product) and white. The former is harvested when the seed head of the lotus is ripe or nearly ripe and the latter is harvested when the seed head is still fully green but with almost fully developed seeds. White lotus seeds are de-shelled and de-membraned. At harvest, the bitter-tasting germ of most seeds is removed using a hollow needle. Brown peel lotus seeds are brown because the ripened seed has adhered to its membrane. The germ of these hard seeds is removed by cracking the seeds in half.