Chap. 46.] 



THE ROYAL THORN. 207 



of much greater solidity. The seed of it is a well-known 

 article of food, 23 and is mostly gathered together with the stalk. 

 It is as well, however, to be on our guard against the foreign 

 kinds ; 24 for that of Arabia has certain deleterious properties, 

 that from Africa is injurious to the gums, and that from 

 Marmarica is prejudicial to the womb and causes flatulence 

 in all the organs. That of Apulia, too, is productive of vomit- 

 ing, and causes derangement in the stomach and intestines. 

 Some persons call this shrub " cynosbaton," 25 others, again, 

 " ophiostaphyle." 26 



CHAP. 45. — THE SARIPHA. 



The saripha, 27 too, that grows on the banks of the Kile, is 

 one of the shrub genus. It is generally about two cubits in 

 height, and of the thickness of one's thumb : it has the foliage 

 of the papyrus, and is eaten in a similar manner. The root, 

 in consequence of its extreme hardness, is used as a substitute 

 for charcoal in forging iron. 



CHAP. 46. (24.) THE ROYAL THORN. 



We must take care, also, not to omit a peculiar shrub that 

 is planted at Babylon, and only upon a thorny plant there, 

 as it will not live anywhere else, just in the same manner as 

 the mistletoe will live nowhere but upon trees. This shrub, 

 however, will only grow upon a kind of thorn, which is known 

 as the royal thorn. 28 It is a wonderful fact, but it germinates 

 the very same day that it has been planted. This is done 



23 The stalk and seed were salted or pickled. The buds or unexpanded 

 flowers of this shrub are admired as a pickle or sauce of delicate flavour. 



21 Fee remarks that this is not the truth, all the kinds possessing the 

 same qualities. There may, however, have been some difference inthe 

 mode of salting or pickling them, and possibly productive of noxious 

 effects. . 



25 Probably from its thorns, that being the name of the sweet-briar, or 

 dog-rose. 26 " Serpent grapes." 



27 Sprengel and Fee take this to be the Cyperus fastigiatus of Linnaeus, 

 which Forskhal found in the river Nile. 



28 Spina regia. Some writers have considered this to be the same with 

 the Centaurea solstitialis-of Linnaeus. Sprengel takes it to be the Cassyta 

 filiformis of Linnaeus, a parasitical plant of India. We must conclude, 

 however, with Fee, that both the thorn and the parasite have not hitherto 

 been identified. 



