Lotus Germination Views

Music

Nelumbo nucifera, known by a number of names including Indian Lotus, Sacred Lotus, Bean of India, or simply Lotus, is a plant in the monogeneric family Nelumbonaceae. The Linnaean binomial Nelumbo nucifera (Gaertn.) is the currently recognized name for this species, which has been classified under the former names, Nelumbium speciosum (Willd.) and Nymphaea nelumbo, among others. Names other than Nelumbo nucifera (Gaertn.) are obsolete synonyms and should not be used in current works. This plant is an aquatic perennial. Under favorable circumstances its seeds may remain viable for many years, with the oldest recorded lotus germination being from that of seeds 1,300m years old recovered from a dry lakebed in northeastern China.[1]

In little over a year, Leeway's Home Grown Music Network and Harmonized Records has amassed an impressive roster of independent jam-band artists including Garaj Majal, The Code Talkers with Col. Bruce Hampton and Perpetual Groove, to name a few. The latest artist to sign with their label, Lotus is slated to release their first live disk, Germination, in May 2003.

This should be a happy experiment. We will be testing the success of growing Lotus from seed under a variety of conditions. So far there are 69 participants in this experiment including myself. Everyone should have gotten at least two different lots of 7 seeds each (unless I messed up in packaging). If anyone comes up short, let me know. I have kept a sampling of seeds from each seed source so as to determine the relative viability of each lot. I will prepare these sample seeds for germination on Saturday.

I believe most of you who have received the species Lotus seed have now prepared the seed for germination and placed them in a container of water on Saturday. In a very short time you should see them grow in size as they absorb water. It is then only a matter of time until the seed embryo starts to grow. As is characteristic with wild plants, these seeds will not all germinate at the same time. Our domesticated flower and vegetable seed have been conditioned over many generations to sprout on command, so to speak. But when plants have to exist in the uncertain world that Mother Nature provides, the wild plants need to keep some seeds dormant in reserve in case the first sprouts face unfavorable growing conditions.