ziziphus lotus

Ziziphus lotus can reach a height of {{convert|2|-|5|m|ft}}, with shiny green leaves about 5 cm long. The edible fruit is a globose, dark yellow drupe of 1–1.5 cm diameter.{{Cn|date=January 2021}}

Ziziphus lotus is often regarded as the lotus tree of Greek mythology.Herodotus, Histories, Book IV, 177. It is thought to be referenced in the Odyssey, consumed by the Lotus-Eaters as a narcotic to induce peaceful apathy.{{Cn|date=January 2021}}

A sacred lotus tree planted near the temple of Vulcan in Rome was said to have been planted by Romulus, who is said to have been a contemporary of the composer[s] of the Odyssey (8th century BCE); it was still standing some 700 years later, in the time of Pliny the Elder.{{Cite DGRBM|article=Vulcanus}}

In Arabic-speaking regions, Ziziphus lotus, and alternatively Ziziphus jujuba, are closely associated with the lote-trees (sidr) which are mentioned in the Quran,Abdullah, Yusuf Ali (1946) The Holy Qur-an. Text, Translation and Commentary, Qatar National Printing Press.p.1139,n.3814{{cite web|title=The Sidrah (Lote-Tree) and the Sidrat al-Muntaha (Lote-Tree of the Extremity): Some Apects of their Islamic and Bābī-Bahā'ī {{sic|nolink=y|reason=error in source|Intepretations}}. |author=Stephen Lambden |quote=This is apparently the wild jujube or zizyphus spina-christi (Christ's thorn), a tall, stout, tropical tree (see image above) with dense prickly branches which produces a sweet reddish fruit similar to that of the jujube (the `unnāb = zizyphus vulgaris / fruit) |url=https://hurqalya.ucmerced.edu/node/38 |access-date=9 July 2019}} while in Palestine, it is rather Ziziphus spina-christi that is called sidr.{{cite book |title=Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature |author-link=Matthew George Easton|last=Easton|first=M.G.|year=1893 |location=London, Edinburgh and New York |publisher=T. Nelson and Sons |page=688 }} Elsewhere in the Arab world, the European and Chinese jujubes are also associated with the lote-trees (sidr).Abdullah, Yusuf Ali (1946) The Holy Qur-an. Text, Translation and Commentary, Qatar National Printing Press.p.1139,n.3814{{cite web|title=The Sidrah (Lote-Tree) and the Sidrat al-Muntaha (Lote-Tree of the Extremity): Some Aspects of their Islamic and Bābī-Bahā'ī {{sic|nolink=y|reason=error in source|Intepretations}}. |author=Stephen Lambden |quote=This is apparently the wild jujube or Zizyphus spina-christi (Christ's thorn), a tall, stout, tropical tree (see image above) with dense prickly branches which produces a sweet reddish fruit similar to that of the jujube (the `unnāb = Zizyphus vulgaris / fruit) |url=https://hurqalya.ucmerced.edu/node/38 |access-date=9 July 2019}}

The 19th century English explorer Richard Burton reported seeing an ancient sidr tree in the mosque containing the Prophet Muhammad's tomb in Medina. It was in a garden dedicated to the prophet's daughter, Fatima. The fruit from the tree was being sold to pilgrims and its leaves used for washing dead bodies.Burton, Sir Richard Francis (1855) A Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah p. 337

• Lotus-eaters

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{{WestAfricanPlants|Ziziphus lotus}}

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Category:Fruits originating in Africa

Category:Flora of North Africa

Category:Flora of Northeast Tropical Africa

Category:Trees of Mediterranean climate

lotus

Category:Flora of the Mediterranean basin