lotus (plant, general)

Scope note: General term referring to several dissimilar plants. Among the best known lotuses are the following: The Egyptian lotus is a white water lily, Nymphaea lotus or the blue lotus (N. caerulea), seen as a motif in art and used ceremonially for its soporific and psychotropic properties. The lotus of the Greeks was the species Ziziphus lotus of the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae), a bush native to southern Europe. It has large fruits containing a mealy substance that can be used for making bread and fermented drinks. In ancient times the fruits were an article of food among the poor, and a wine made from the fruit was thought to produce contentment and forgetfulness, as described in Homer. This is also probably the lotus mentioned in the Biblical Book of Job, where a large hippopotamus-like creature (behemoth) lies under the lotus tree. Homer also mentions the lotus as a kind of clover or trefoil that was food for horses, in this context perhaps Melilotus officinalis or a trefoil species of the Lotus genus. The sacred lotus of the Hindus was the waterlily Nelumbo nucifera, having white, blue, or pink flowers. The lotus tree, known to the Romans as the Libyan lotus, was probably the nettle tree of southern Europe, Celtis australis, a member of the elm family (Cannabaceae), with fruits like small cherries, first red and then black at maturity and mentioned by ancient writers for its hard, black wood, from which statues, flutes, etc. were carved.

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