States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaArkansasFloridaLouisianaMississippiVirginiaWest Virginia
Menu

American Lotus

Nelumbo lutea

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in ponds, natural lakes, sluggish streams, freshwater tidal marshes. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

38
Good

Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
3 feet
Spread
3–4 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to standing water

Space about 3.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 8 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
June to September
Fruiting season
Summer to fall

Recorded in 30 Arkansas counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 111 animals.

All wildlife of Arkansas

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR

Genus host records with ranges including AR · Nelumbo

  • Bellura obliquaCattail Border Moth, Cattail Diver
  • Elophila gyralisWaterlily Borer Moth
  • Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
  • Ostrinia penitalisAmerican Lotus Borer, Lily Moth
  • Psara obscuralisObscure Psara Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
3BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Nelumbo

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Beetles 2
  • Diabrotica 12-punctata
  • Typocerus badius

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Flies 5
  • Notiphila unicolor
  • Orthoneura nitida
  • Pipiza pulchella
  • Sphaerophoria cylindrica
  • Syrphus ribesii

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Nelumbonaceae
Hardiness
Zones 4a–10b
Flower color
Cream or yellow
Growth rate
Moderate
Growth habit
Spreads by rhizomes
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Summer
Fruit ends
Fall

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

American Lotus Lily

Conservation status

Arkansas rankSNR
Global rankG4
AR statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

Choose a county to begin.

How to check your spot

Growing cautions

For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.

Sources