According to Greek mythology
there is a strange island just off the coast of Africa
inhabited by a mysterious race of drug addicts
a small island, it is home to a sweet tasting flower found nowhere else on earth
known as Lotus it is the only food eaten by those ho call the island home
Lotus has a wonderful taste but once eaten will change you forever
causing you to live in a permanent dream like state
you forget where you've come from
where you're going
and even your name
your sole desire will be to remain on the island and eat more Lotus
with no pain or worry in the world
our only description of the island comes from Homer's Odyssey
but it has since fallen into mythology
in the story Odysseus and his crew ended up on the island after getting lost in a terrible storm
finding the island full of Lotus trees and friendly natives
all but Odysseus ate the mysterious plant and succambe to it's narcotic effect
after falling into a deep sleep they strongly objected to leaving the island
crying when Odysseus finally forced them back aboard their ship
since then the island has long been debated
the most important question being is it real?
the inhabitants were thought to be a separate race of humans
though nothing was known of their origin
they did no hard to the newcomers
only offering them Lotus to eat
some speculate they were trying to trap the crew by getting them hooked on the plant
perhaps they destroyed all other food sources on the island
or maybe the Lotus tree itself did that
interestingly the Quran mentions a mysterious plant called the Lote tree
and some believe it is described in the bible also
but Lotus is not the only narcotic of myth and legend
also from ancient mythology is the Mandrake
a real plant root that contains hallucinogenic properties
the roots grow long and often resemble a small human like figure
folklore describes them as living creatures who feel pain and scream when uprooted
it also told that mandrake can cure mental illness
the root was used across the Mediterranean region
by people in Greece Egypt and Rome
but people were warned to use mandrake sparingly
as taking too much can cause madness or even death
it was also used as an aphrodisiac and believed to have great magical power
the mandrake was even mentioned in the bible
by medieval times the plant was depicted as undoubtably humanoid
especially in medical books
to me it doesn't look all that human
but since it was a halluninogenic it's
possible that every single person to ever describe it was just high
as time went on the mandrake stopped being described as an aphrodisiac
the German saint Hildegard actually claimed it could suppress sexual desire
and I believe her
because if there's anyone I'd take sex advice from
it's a long dead medieval saint
far stranger than the mandrake is the vegetable lamb or Tartary
a major legend of the 1600s
it was a large tree that instead of growing fruit
grew live sheep
almost identical to actual sheep
these were always connected to the plant by a vine
rumor of this sheep emerged from central Asia
slowly making it's way to Europe were many learned men believed it was real
countless travelers claimed to have seen it with their own eyes
with some presenting alleged dead specimen
as always there are different versions of the legend
according to one it was a large fruit that grew on the ground
once ripe, the fruit could be cut open to reveal an animal
though not having any wool it was otherwise similar to a sheep
but it's flesh resembles a plant more than any animal
vegetable lambs are a favorite food of wolves and bears
and humans have reportedly been encountering them for thousands of years
according to some it's flesh did resemble meat
but it was more like lobster meat than sheep
once born capturing a vegetable lamb alive was impossible
as they are always connected to the plant by a vine
and any attempt to sever it would kill them
this also meant they have a short lifespan
when all the grass it could reach from it's connecting vine was eaten
the lamb would just die of starvation
so the only way to capture one is to find a seed and grow the entire plant yourself
why anyone would want to capture a vegetable lamb I don't know
but to be honest I feel the same way about those weird dog breeds that look like aliens
despite it being so widely accepted as fact
no one knew where exactly they could be found
only that is was somewhere near the Caspian Sea
it was said eating the lamb would make a person abnormally strong
some believe this was why the nomadic steppe warriors were so dominant
hence why it was also known as the Scythian Lamb
the lamb first appeared in writing in the 5th century AD
but for all we know it could be a much older legend
as the world got more explored in the 1800s
a lot of Europeans expected the plant to be discovered
but of course they never found it
for such a creature to exist would just be ridiculous
as belief in it waned so did the memory of it
and today most people have never heard of the vegetable lamb
other legendary plants include the man eating tree
a carnivorous plant that kills anyone who gets close enough
a mystical species of peach known to grant eternal life to all who consume it
there is even a kind of flower that if consumed
turns you into a vampire