Any of several different plants whose flowers have been given symbolic meaning by many cultures. The lotus of the Greeks is Ziziphus lotus (family Rhamnaceae), a shrub native to southern Europe; wine made from its fruit was thought to produce contentment and forgetfulness. The Egyptian lotus is a white water lily (Nymphaea lotus). The sacred lotus of the Hindus is an aquatic plant (Nelumbo nucifera) with white or delicate pink flowers; the lotus of eastern North America is Nelumbo pentapetala, a similar plant with yellow blossoms. Lotus is also a genus of the pea family (see legume), containing about 100 species found in temperate regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America; the 20 or more species in North America are grazed by animals. The lotus is a common ornament in architecture, and since ancient times it has symbolized fertility, purity, sexuality, birth, and rebirth of the dead.

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Chinese Buddhist millenarian movement that was often persecuted because of its association with rebellion. The movement had roots in 4th-century worship of the Buddha Amitabha, whose devotional cult inspired Mao Ziyuan to form the White Lotus Society, a pious vegetarian group of monks and laity. By the 14th century it had developed into a millenarian sect that combined Maitreyan and Manichaean beliefs and was active in rebellions at the end of the Yuan dynasty. The society became most prominent through its role in the White Lotus Rebellion (1786–1804), a large-scale uprising in central China that contributed to the fall of the Qing dynasty. It was eventually put down by peasants organized into local militia defense corps. Later Chinese governments came to use the term White Lotus for all illegal millenarian groups. Some observers saw the Nian Rebellion of 1852 as well as the secret society behind the Boxer Rebellion as new manifestations of the White Lotus Society.

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• Nelumbo, plant genus of true Lotus flowers
• Lotus position, cross-legged sitting posture for meditation
• A European sports car

Horticulture and botany

• Lotus (plant), plants of various taxa
• Lotus (genus), comprising bird's-foot trefoils and deervetches
• Ziziphus lotus, thorny shrub that may have been the "lotus tree" of Greek mythology
• Lotus effect, self-cleaning property of Nelumbo species
• Nymphaea lotus, the Egyptian white water-lily or tiger lotus
• Nymphaea zenkeri, the red tiger lotus
• Nelumbo nucifera, blue lotus, Indian lotus, sacred lotus, bean of India, or sacred water-lily
• Nelumbo lutea, American lotus
• Nymphaea, the water-lily genus superficially similar to and often confused with Nelumbo lotus
• Nymphaea alba, European white water-lily or white lotus
• Nymphaea caerulea, Egyptian blue lily or sacred blue lily, also called the blue or sacred lotus
• Saussurea laniceps, snow lotus

Asian culture

• Lotus kick, foot sweep in T'ai Chi Ch'uan
• Lotus seed, in Chinese medicine
• Lotus Sutra, of the Sublime Dharma
• Nelumbo nucifera, the blue lotus, the sacred lotus or the Indian lotus
• Padma (attribute), the sacred lotus
• Lotus feet, the practice of foot binding in pre-modern China
• Lotus, one of the Ashtamangala, or Eight Auspicious Symbols

Western culture

• Lotus (album), live album by the band Santana
• Lotus (board game), abstract strategy board game
• Lotus (band), Sixties pop band
• Lotus (guitar), former guitar manufacturer
• Lotus (song), song by R.E.M.
• The Blue Lotus, comic album part of the 1936 series The Adventures of Tintin''
• Lotus, album by Italian singer Elisa
• Lotus, song by Minus the Bear
• Lotus, a jam band based in Philadelphia

Corporate and computing

• Lotus Software, previously Lotus Development Corporation, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Lotus 1-2-3, spreadsheet program
• Lotus Cars, British sports and racing car manufacturer
• Lotus (computer games), a videogame series based on Lotus Cars
• Lotus Notes, enterprise-level electronic messaging
• Lotus Sametime, instant messaging program
• Team Lotus, Formula 1 constructor related to Lotus Cars
• Tesco Lotus, chain of Thai hypermarket stores
• IBM Lotus Connections, social networking program
• IBM Lotus Quickr, enterprise-level team collaboration

Other usage

• Lotus, Florida, area in Brevard County, USA
• S.S.S. Lotus, gaff-rigged schooner
• Lotus case, a precedent-setting case resulting from a collision between the S.S. Lotus and the S.S. Boz-Kourt
• Lotus tree of Greek mythology, into which Lotis was transformed, and which was eaten by the Lotophagi of Homer's Odyssey

See also

• Black lotus