"The plant which produces ladanum, introduced
into Egypt by the Ptolemies."
Plin.
"Producing a fruit from which an oil or ointment
was extracted. Growing in the Thebaïd.'
"Plin.
"Gathered before ripe that which is left is called
Phoenicobalanus, and is intoxicating.' Plin.
"Said to grow in Egypt.' Plin. A sort of lichen
growing on trees. Oil extracted from it.
13. 1.
"Bearing leaves like the Zizyphus. Cooked in oil
to make the ointment called Cyprus. The best
grown about Canopus. Leaves dye the hair."
Plin.
There are four or five other species of Teucrium in
Egypt.
Balsam in Egypt, according to Dioscorides and
Strabo, till lately cultivated at Heliopolis.
"Of use for ointments." Plin. It is supposed to
be the sheath of the palm flowers. Vide Dioscor.
1. 150. (Arab. Sabát, comp. Spathe.)
"Oil of bitter almonds made in Egypt.'
See Vol. I., p. 55. "Thebaïc palms.'
"Wine made from the fruit in Egypt." Plin.
They now make birdlime from it.
"Fruit growing on the stem itself." Athen. Deipn. ii. p. 51.
(Locust tree, or Kharoób, said by Pliny not to grow in Egypt. It is now an Egyptian tree.)
"Pliny rejects the idle tale of the peach being a
poisonous fruit introduced by the Persians into
Egypt." See lib. xv. 13.
"Like to a palm, but with spreading branches.
Fruit fills a man's hand; of a brown yellow
colour. That within large and hard; turned
and made into pulleys or sail rings. The nucleus
within it eaten when young; exceedingly hard
when dry (and ripe).'
"See above, Vol. I. p. 56.
"Seed pods used for tanning.' "Produces gum."
Plin. See Athen. xv. p. 680. Groves of it at
Thebes, Memphis, and Abydus: the two last
still remain. Many other Mimosas in Egypt.
Pliny (xiii. 10) mentions a sensitive acacia about
Memphis. One is now common on the banks of
the Nile above Dongola (the Acacia Asperata?).
The mimosa Lebbek also grew of old in Egypt,
and the Copt Christians have a silly legend of
its worshipping the Saviour.
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"About Thebes, where the Persica, olive (and
spina) grow. Plin. The oak is unknown in
Egypt.
Grows in the Eastern desert of the Thebaïd. See
Descr. de l'Egypte. Bot., pl. 28. fig. 1.
"The olives of Egypt very fleshy, but with little Strabo This is very true. oil." Plin. xv. 13. "the Arsinoïte nome alone (excepting the gardens of Alexandria) produces the olive. The says, oil is very good if carefully extracted
See below in Chap. vii. Strabo, xvii. p. 550.
See Vol. I. pp. 57, 79, 256, 257.
"The flower called Balaustium." Plin. It is the
ancient rhodon or rose, which was used for its dye,
and gave its name to the Island of Rhodes. It is
therefore on the reverse of the coins of that island.
"Called also Myrice, or wild brya, very abundant
in Egypt and Syria." "Brya, or bryonia, com-
monly called Arbor infelix," Plin.
"Knotted and hollow stem, very light, good for
matches. Some call the seed Thapsia.' Plin.
Two kinds, like the anethum. A large umbel-
liferous plant, supposed to be a sort of wild
The Caper. The fruit of the Egyptian caper, or
Lussuf, is very large, like a small cucumber,
about 2 inches long, which is eaten by the Arabs.
See Theophr. iv. 9. "It grows on the banks of the
Nile, with a head (coma) like the papyrus, and is
eaten in the same manner.' Plin.
See above, Vol. I. pp. 39 to 45.
Pliny says that no
trees, not even vines, lose their leaves about
Memphis and Elephantine. Lib. xvi. 21.
Castorberry tree, or Palma Christi. tracted from it abounds in Egypt."
"Oil made from its seeds in Egypt." Plin. It is probably the Seemga or Raphanus oleïfer, and not the sativus, that he alludes to. He may perhaps have had in view the Selyam (Brassica oleïfer), or coleseed, so common throughout Egypt. The seemga is now confined to Nubia and the southern extremity of the Thebaïd. "Oil extracted from it.'
"Cultivated for its oil." See above, p. 23.
"The Alexandrian the best
quality." "Used also medicinally." Plin. Sup-
posed to be a nettle.
Perhaps of Greek introduction.
It is a singular fact, that the small fruit of the wild
fig of the Egyptian desert, and of Syria, is called
by the Arabs Kottayn, since Pliny says, “the
small Syrian figs are called Cottana." Lib. xiii.
c. 5. The tree is called Hamát.
"The myrtle of Egypt is the most odoriferous."
Plin. and Athen. 15. It is only now grown in
gardens. Pliny in another place says, "the
flowers of Egypt have very little odour," xxi. 7,
probably on the authority of Theophrastus.
Hist. Plant. vi. 6.; De Caus. Plant. vi. 27.
"Used by many nations for arrows, so that half the
world has been conquered by reeds." Plin. (See
Vol. I. pp. 352, 353.)
Triticum sativum
(Arab. Kumh.)
Triticum Zea?
Holcus Sorghum ?
(Arab. Dóora.)
Triticum Spelta?
Vicia Faba.
(Arab. Fool.)
Ervums Lens.
(Arab. Atz, Adz, or Adduz.)
Linum usitatissimum.
(Arab. Kettán.)
Gossypium herbaceum.
(Arab. Kôton.)
Arum Colocasia ?
(Arab. Kolkás.)
Arum Arisarum?
Allium sativum.
(Arab. Tôm.)
Allium Cepa.
(Arab. Bussal.)
Allium Porrum.
(Arab. Korrát.)
Cuminum Cyminum, and
Nigella sativa.
(Arab. Kammoon-abiad and Kammoon-aswed.)
Origanum Ægyptiacum. (Arab. Bardakoosh.)
"The Egyptians make a medicinal decoction of olyra for children, which they call Athara.' Plin. xxii. 25.
"With a prickly stalk." Plin.
"Two kinds of lentils in Egypt." Plin.
"Four kinds, the Tanitic, Pelusiac, Butic, and Tentyritic." Plin.
"Called Gossipion, or Xylon: the cloths made from it hence named Xylina.' Plin.
"About the size of a squill;" "with a bulbous
root." Plin.
"Like the Aron, but smaller; the root being the
size of an olive."
"Both ranked by the Egyptians among gods, in
taking an oath."
Pliny speaks of two, one whiter than the other,
used for the same purpose, and put upon cakes
of bread at Alexandria. The white and black
Cuminum are called by the Arabs Kammoon
abiad and Kammoon aswed: the latter is the
Nigella sativa. See above, Vol. I., pp. 177, 266.
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