Manna
Manna Manna, general name for several food substances, mostly sweetening agents, derived from unrelated plants. Flowering, or manna, ash , Fraxinus ornus , produces from incisions an exudate that is 80 percent mannitol, a sugar alcohol, and is grown for this purpose in Sicily. Some members of the legume family, Alhagi species, native to Egypt and Syria, produce a similar kind of manna as an exudate on twigs. When it solidifies the bushes are shaken, knocking off the manna. When the scale insect Coccus manniparus punctures the bark of a Mediterranean species of tamarisk , Tamarix mannifera , a sweet substance is produced that falls to the ground and solidifies. Some experts believe that the manna of the Bible was the lichen Lecanora esculenta , or a related species. Arabs still gather this lichen and mix it with meal to produce bread. When dry, it can be torn from the soil and transported by the wind, producing a “rain” of food.