- Ziziphus lotus
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Ziziphus lotus 
Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Rhamnaceae Genus: Ziziphus Species: Z. lotus Binomial name Ziziphus lotus
(L.) Lam.Ziziphus lotus is a deciduous shrub in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, including the Sahara in Morocco.
Description
Ziziphus lotus can reach a height of 2–5 metres (6.6–16 ft), with shiny green leaves about 5 cm long. The edible fruit is a globose dark yellow drupe 1-1.5 cm diameter called a nabk. Common names in Arabic are sidr , rubeida ("after its crouch-shaped treetop"), nbeg in Tunisia and annab in Lebanon.[1]
It is closely related to Ziziphus zizyphus (Jujube), and is often regarded as the Lotus tree of Greek mythology.[2]
See also
- Lotus-eaters
References
- ^ Amots Dafni, Shay Levy, Efraim Lev (2005). "The ethnobotany of Christ's Thorn Jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi) in Israel". Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 1 (8): 8. doi:10.1186/1746-4269-1-8. PMID 16270941. http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/1/1/8. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
- ^ Herodotus, Histories, Book IV, 177.
Categories:- Ziziphus
- Flora of the Mediterranean
- Flora of Northern Africa
- Flora of the Sahara
- Flora of Morocco
- Flora of Lebanon
- Flora of Palestine
- Flora of Tunisia
- Trees of Mediterranean climate
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