LOTUS TREE / Zizyphus spina-christi

A small tree from the Near east and eastwards into India. This is a sacred plant, often
used to mark boundaries between lands of different villages. Some believe that the hedge surrounding Paradise is made of this. When a Lotus-tree reaches the age of 40 years, it often becomes the abode of some dead saint, so it is therefore a dangerous thing to cut down an old tree (Hanauer).