DNA studies have revealed that the lotus (Nelumbo) is not related to the waterlilies (Nymphaea) as previously assumed, but instead evolved from a common ancestor along with the plane trees (Platanus) and banksias (Proteaceae)! Nelumbo was once widespread, however Nelumbo nucifera—the sacred lotus—reduced its range as the Earth grew colder and drier, until adopted by various cultures as a source of religious (and culinary) veneration, and spread by people. It is likely, however, that Nelumbo nucifera arrived in northern Australia, as it did in Patagonia, sometime between 84–65 mya, in the Cretaceous distribution of early angiosperms.