<Li> a water - lily, either Nymphaea lotus, Nymphaea caerulea, or Nymphaea stellata . Recent studies have shown that the blue water - lily of the Nile, Nymphaea caerulea, also known as the blue lotus (already known under this name to the Greeks), is another candidate . It can be processed to be used as a soporific and, in some formulations, has psychotropic properties . It is common in Egyptian iconography which suggests its use in a religious context . </Li> <Li> the nettle - tree, Celtis australis </Li> <Li> Ziziphus lotus, a relative of the jujube </Li> <P> It is the last of these, or another member of the genus Ziziphus, that is traditionally taken to be the plant meant in the Odyssey . </P>

What happened with the lotus eaters in the odyssey