Historical. i i 



that there were two varieties. He goes on to mention other " lilies, 

 like roses," with fruit " like a wasp's nest," and edible seeds " of the 

 size of an olive stone " ; this is evidently Nelumbo nucifera. He also 

 uses the word "lotus" in book iv, par. 177, to designate a tree whose 

 fruit is the food of the Lotophagi (Lotus-eaters) and their neighbors 

 the Machyles, tribes of Northern Africa. This, the Forgetful Lotus, is 

 a species of Zizyphus. 



Theophrastus (Bk. 9, ch. 13), in a chapter dealing with various plants 

 and roots, speaks of some which are " sour, others bitter, others sweet." 

 " The sweet [one] called nymphaea (wfiyaia) is accustomed to grow in 

 pools and marshes, as in the Orchomenian country, and Marathon, and 

 the island of Crete. The Boeotians call it madonia, and eat the fruit. 

 It bears large leaves upon {supra) the water ; [these] ground and placed 

 on wounds are said to stop blood. It is useful also as a drink for 

 intestinal disorders." This has been generally accepted, I think cor- 

 rectly, to refer to Nymphaea alba, the common white waterlily of Europe. 

 Theophrastus also describes Nelumbo, under the name of xua/xo^. 



A brief mention of the "lotus " of Egypt, evidently Nymphaea, occurs 

 in the Historical Library of Diodorus Siculus, written about the beginning 

 of our era. He says (Bk. I, ch. 3) it grows in great plenty in the delta of 

 the Nile, and is used for bread. He too speaks of Nelumbo, but under 

 the name of xtftmpwv. Celsus gives " lotus " in a list of therapeutic 

 agents for " cooling the body." The word may not belong to the original 

 manuscript, but may have been added in later copies. It is considered to 

 stand for the Egyptian lotus as above. 



Dioscorides, in his Materia Medica, devotes a chapter (112) in book 

 iv to " the Egyptian lotus (kwTbt; 6 'at AquTcry j-eww^svoc). which grows 

 in plains flooded by the water " of the Nile. " The stem resembles that 

 of xua/ioi; [Nelumbo], having a white flower like a lily (xpivov) which, 

 they say, opens at sunrise, and closes at sunset, and the head is 

 altogether hidden under water, and again emerges at sunrise. The head 

 is like a very large poppy ; in it is seed (xo/otoc ; grand) like millet, 

 which the Egyptians dry and beat into bread. It has a root like a quince, 

 which is also eaten both raw and cooked ; when cooked it resembles the 

 yolk of an egg." The identity of this with our Nymphaea lotus L. can 

 scarcely be doubted. We find a difficulty in that N lotus is a night- 

 bloomer, and therefore could not possibly be thought by those familiar 

 with it to sink under water at night. But N caerulea grows with N lotus 

 in Egypt, and is a day-bloomer, closing into a very insignificant bud by 



