American Lotus

It is the larval host plant of the American lotus borer, Ostrinia penitalis.

Nelumbo lutea populations are declining in the U.S. due to habitat destruction. It has been listed as threatened or endangered in New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, and extirpated in Delaware. Their populations have a low level of genetic diversity, showing variation among different populations rather than within populations.

The native distribution of the species is Minnesota to Oklahoma, Florida, Mexico, Honduras, and the Caribbean. ]] Indigenous communities, who utilized the plant as a source of food and medicine, likely expanded its distribution northward and eastward across the continent.

N. lutea may be the plant called "macoupin" in the Miami-Illinois language. The seed is also edible and is known as "alligator corn". The seed-like fruits can be shaken loose, and are also edible. The unopened leaves and young stalks can be cooked. For the Wyandot people, the plant was mixed with acorns for food during times of famine. The Meskwaki had the plants seeds cooked with corn, and for winter-time food used terminal shoots cut crosswise, strung on string, and dried. The species is also widely planted in ponds as an ornamental plant; for its foliage and flowers. American Lotus spreads via creeping rhizomes and seeds. This species has been crossed with N. nucifera to create many hybrids. Seeds may be propagated by scarifying the pointed tip of the seed with a file then soaking in water. Propagation is also possible by division of established plants.