Forbidden fruit Paramhansa Yogananda cites an interpretation by his master Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri that the Garden of Eden refers to man's body, with the fruit in the center being that of the sexual organs. In Western Europe, the fruit was often depicted as an apple. This was possibly because of a misunderstanding of – or a pun on – "mălum", a native Latin noun which means evil (from the adjective "malus"), and "mālum", another Latin noun, borrowed from Greek μῆλον, which means apple. In the Vulgate, Genesis 2:17 describes the tree as "de ligno autem scientiae boni et mali" : "but
Malus are borne in corymbs, and have five petals, which may be white, pink or red, and are perfect, with usually red stamens that produce copious pollen, and a half-inferior ovary; flowering occurs in the spring after 50–80 growing degree days (varying greatly according to subspecies and cultivar). Apples require cross-pollination between individuals by insects (typically bees, which freely visit the flowers for both nectar and pollen); all are self-sterile, and (with the exception of a few specially developed cultivars) self-pollination is impossible, making pollinating insects essential. Several "Malus" species, including domestic apples, hybridize freely. They are used as food plants