THE CLASSICAL PLANTS OF SICILY. 211 
142. Allium sativum.—Cultivated Garlic. 
Zxógoðov qucgor, Diosc. lib. ii. cap. 182; and 3xéz0d0, "Theoph. 
lib, vii. cap. 4, according to Sprengel; but Stackhouse con- 
siders it 4. Scorodoprasum. 
143. Asparagus acutifolius.—Sharp-leaved Asparagus.— 
Fl. Grac. vol. iv. t. 337. 
"Aordgayos, Diosc. lib. ii. cap. 152. — Acpdgayos, Theoph. lib. 
vi. cap. 3.— 3z«o&yyi, ý Zpagayyı& in Romaic ; but in Cyprus 
it is still named &ezáezyos. — Sibth.—In Sicilian, Asparagu. 
The young stems, or heads, were eaten by the ancients. 
Dioscorides says they softened the stomach and produced 
urine. Theophrastus relates, that the stem rose up out of 
the Asparagus-bed in the spring, and was fit for food,— 
cv Bruscver ð 6 xavrds ix rig ’Aopagayias rod 5205, nai 2dwdiuds iem. 
The young heads of this species, and of the A. albus, are 
cut from wild plants, (inculti asparagi, apud Martial) and 
brought to table in Sicily; they are thin, bitter, and often 
stringy, and form a poor substitute for the cultivated, or 
garden, Asparagus. 
144, Hyacinthus comosus.— Purple Hyacinth.— Bot. Mag. 
vol. iv. & 133. 
BorGds edudsyuoc, Diosc. lib. ii. cap. 200, and 0r8és, Theoph. 
lib. vii. cap. 13. (Sprengel.) According to Sibthorp the bulbs 
of this Hyacinth are still eaten in Greece. Probably it is 
the Bor8é¢ mentioned in Theocritus, Jdyl. xiv. v. 17.— Com- 
mon in fields, flowering early in May. 
145. Ruscus Hypophyllum.—Broad-leaved  Butcher's 
Broom.— Bot. Mag. vol. xlvi. t. 2049. 
Ado’ ArsEdvdgea, Diosc. lib. iv. cap. 147; also of Theoph. 
lib. i. cap. 16, which is described as izigv/2xaezoz, bearing the 
fruit upon the leaves. Dioscorides says its leaves are larger, 
softer, and whiter than those of the Common Butcber's 
Broom (E. aculeatus) mugoivn dyein, 7 iEvervecivn, (prickly Myrtle) 
which is the nevrgouusslvn Of Theoph. lib. ill. cap. 17. 
SMILACE.A. 
146. Smilax aspera.— Rough Bindweed Smilax. 
