A sweet exudate, called in Arabic mann or mann es-sama (manna of heaven), which exudes in drops from the Tamarix Mannifera, the tarfa tree.
A similar substance yielded by other shrubs, or, according to Niebuhr, by a species of oak tree.
A laxative exudate of the flowering ash, Traximus Ornus.
A miraculous food sent by God to the Hebrews in the Exodus, described in Exodus 16, and Numbers 11. The etymology of the name is clearly given in Exodus 16: man hu, "wvhat is it?" It is a desperate rebellion against evidence to try to identify the miraculous manna of the Exodus with the natural exudates. The daily consumption of manna, as computed by Macalister was more than 300 tons; as he rightly declares "all the Tamarisks in the desert could not have yielded this daily provision." This natural exudate is only found during two months of autumn; it has been falsely described, having none of the properties asserted of the miraculous substance of the Exodus.
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Bibliography Information Entry for 'Manna'. 1910 New Catholic Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ncd/m/manna.html. 1910.