Celtis australis, commonly known as the European nettle tree, Mediterranean hackberry, lote tree

Lote tree

The Lote Tree is an Islamic metaphor concerning the uppermost boundary in knowledge a human being can possess concerning Allah.-Quran sources:...

, or honeyberry, is a deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

 tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

 that can grow 20 or 25 meters in height.

Leaves: Simple, alternate, and sharp-toothed are rough on top, and furry underneath, 5 to 15 cm long and dark grey/green throughout the year fading to a pale yellow before falling in autumn.

Flowers: The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) small and green without petals, either singly or in small clusters. Not effective ornamentally.

Fruit: Small, dark-purple berry-like drupes, 1 cm wide hang in short clusters and are extremely popular with birds and other wildlife.

Bark: Smooth, gray bark develops picturesque corky warts and ridges as it matures.

Habitat

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.
The Mediterranean climate

Mediterranean climate

A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...

 is especially suitable for the plant.

In India, in the Urdu/Hindi language it is called "ber".

This tree is also widely found in the Middle-East.

In the north of Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

 this tree has a sacred aspect.

Uses

It is often planted as an ornamental as it is resistant to air pollution and long-living.
The fruit of this tree is sweet and edible, and can be eaten raw or cooked. The leaves and fruit are astringent, lenitive and stomachic. Decoction of both leaves and fruit is used in the treatment of amenorrhoea, heavy menstrual and intermenstrual bleeding and colic. The decoction can also be used to astringe the mucous membranes in the treatment of diarrhoea, dysentery and peptic ulcers.
A yellow dye is obtained from the bark.
Wood - very tough, pliable, durable. Widely used by turners. The flexible thin shoots are used as walking sticks.

History

The European Nettle, Celtis australis, is supposed to have been the Lotus of the ancients, whose fruit Herodotus

Herodotus

Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...

, Dioscorides, and Theophrastus

Theophrastus

Theophrastus , a Greek native of Eresos in Lesbos, was the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He came to Athens at a young age, and initially studied in Plato's school. After Plato's death he attached himself to Aristotle. Aristotle bequeathed to Theophrastus his writings, and...

 describe as sweet, pleasant, and wholesome. Homer

Homer

In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...

 has Ulysses

Odysseus

Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....

 refer to the "Lotus-eaters" and the "lotus" in Odyssey, Book IX.
The fruit and its effects are described in Tennyson's poem The Lotos-Eaters.