“GROWING IN THE mud, and yet so clean, the lotus is a symbol of purity,” writes the Sri Lankan historian Ananda K. Coomaraswamy in his 1913 book “The Arts and Crafts of India & Ceylon.” The lotus pool ...

The floating lotus plant (Nelumbo nucifera) is an aquatic plant native to Asia. The stems, leaves, and seeds of the plant have been valued in culture, cooking, and medicine since ancient times. Though ...