Asian lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) is one of the most aesthetic ornamental aquatic indigenous species, endowed with unique biological and nutritional traits. The seeds are icon of eternity due to remarkable longevity, known to survive in nature up to 1300 years. Leaves fend off dirt and water by a phenomenon of superhydrophobicity and flowers generate heat by thermoregulation to enhance pollination success. Hence, lotus is an extremely important model system to investigate the process of aging in plants and develop designer seeds with high vigour, viability and longevity. The whole plant is nutritionally rich with great medicinal value. While scientific attention on various aspects ranging from basic botany to genome sequencing in lotus is increasing worldwide, India has somewhat lagged behind in taking due scientific, agronomic and conservation initiatives. At present, the lotus is facing habitat loss because of global environmental change, vanishing of wetlands, over-exploitation from its natural habitat, and lack of concerted management efforts. Possible conservation strategies are proposed with a view to draw the attention of policy makers and stakeholders for prioritizing this species in various biodiversity-related programs of the country, besides promoting it as a potential food and nutraceutical species.

亚洲莲花（莲）盖恩特（Gaertn。）是最美观的观赏水生土著物种之一，具有独特的生物学和营养特性。由于寿命长，种子是永恒的象征，众所周知，种子可以在自然中生存长达1300年。叶片通过超疏水现象抵御灰尘和水，花朵通过温度调节产生热量以增强授粉成功。因此，莲花是一个非常重要的模型系统，用于研究植物的衰老过程并开发出活力，活力和寿命长的设计种子。整个植物营养丰富，具有很高的药用价值。在全世界范围内，从基本植物学到莲花的基因组测序等各个方面的科学关注都在增加，印度在采取适当的科学，农艺学和保护计划方面有些落后。现在，由于全球环境的变化，湿地的消失，自然栖息地的过度开发以及缺乏协调的管理工作，莲花面临着栖息地的丧失。提出了可能的保护战略，以引起决策者和利益相关者的注意，以便在将该物种作为国家潜在的食品和营养物种之外，在该国与生物多样性有关的各种计划中将其列为优先事项。