Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including GA
Genus host records with ranges including GA · Nelumbo
- Bellura obliquaCattail Border Moth, Cattail Diver
- Elophila gyralisWaterlily Borer Moth
- Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
- Ostrinia penitalisAmerican Lotus Borer, Lily Moth
- Parapoynx maculalisPolymorphic Pondweed Moth
- Psara obscuralisObscure Psara Moth
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 claimBeetles 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
- Bloom · “Mid summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “Cream or yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “3 feet” · Tennessee Smart Yards · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- primary_flower_color · “yellow” · USDA PLANTS
- Soil · “Frequent standing water; Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “3–4 feet” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
Also known as
American Lotus Lily
Conservation status
| Georgia rank | Not available |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4 |
| GA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
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Sources
- tnky_atlas
- usda
- nc_flora
- Georgia occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications