Nelumbo lutea (Pentapetala) - This magnificent flower measured a full eight inches across. Although it seems foreign and exotic (to me, anyway), it is native to North America, and is also known as "water chinquapin". Almost the whole plant is edible at different times of year. Blooms in late summer. I was a little late in the season, so the one pictured is a bit ragged. (Photographed in WI)

This is a seed pod from the lotus. Asians eat the seeds of a related species when they are still green and not yet hard. They are similar to uncooked peas. My books say that you can also eat the older seeds like nuts, but it sounds like alot of work.