THE CLASSICAL PLANTS OF SICILY. 99 
It has been a matter of curiosity, and an amusement to me, 
to endeavour to identify some of the Sicilian plants with the 
ancient descriptions of Theophrastus, of Dioscorides,* and 
occasionally of Pliny; and also of the two Cyracusan poets, 
Theocritus and Moschus; and wherever I was able, I have 
given the modern Greek names, according to Dr. Sibthorp, 
and references to the beautiful plates in the Flora Greca. 
A few notes and quotations from other Classical Authors are, 
now and then, interspersed, as they occurred to my memory at 
the time, for the sake of elucidating some property or use of 
the plants. This I was induced to do, since Greek was, for 
a long period, the prevailing language in Sicily; and so many 
of the plants of Greece are common to that island. A vast 
number of the Grecian plants retain at present their ancient 
names, more or less corrupted. 
Dr. Sibthorp observes, in describing his ascent of Parnas- 
sus,—** After dinner I walked out with a shepherd's boy to 
herborize; my pastoral botanist surprised me not a little with 
his nomenclature; I traced the names of Dioscorides and 
and Theophrastus, corrupted indeed, in some degree, by pro- 
nunciation, and by the long ‘series annorum which had 
elapsed since the time of these philosophers; but many of 
them were unmutilated, and their virtues faithfully handed 
down in the oral traditions of the country." 
The first great step towards distinguishing and knowing 
the plants of the ancients with any certainty, is, to obtain the 
Romaie, or Modern-Greek names, and then to compare 
them with their old descriptions ; often, however, these are 
so brief, that they can be applied to several different plants; 
Which, of course, makes the attempt somewhat vague and 
unsatisfactory. 
eee ee ll EEE 
* The editions to which I have referred, are—Dioscorides Libri Octo. 
à Birkmann. Parisiis, Svo., 1549.— Theophrasti Opera. Edit. Hein- 
`tus.— Lugd. Bat. fol. 1613.—[Illustrationes Theophrasti. Auctor J. Stack- 
use. Oxon. 8vo., 1811. 
