| Noun | 1. | genus Nelumbo - sometimes placed in the family Nymphaeaceae: lotusesmagnoliid dicot genus - genus of dicotyledonous flowering plants regarded as among the most primitive of extant angiosperms Nelumbonaceae, subfamily Nelumbonaceae - in some classifications considered an independent family of water lilies; comprises the single genus Nelumbo American lotus, Nelumbo lutea, water chinquapin, yanquapin - water lily of eastern North America having pale yellow blossoms and edible globular nutlike seeds |