210 pliny's natural history. [BookXIil. 



mere herb is generally understood, while the " phycos" is a 

 complete shrub. This plant has a broad leaf of a green co- 

 lour, which is by some called "prason," 38 and by others is 

 known as " zoster." 39 Another kind, 40 again, has a hairy sort 

 of leaf, very similar to fennel, and grows upon rocks, while 

 that previously mentioned grows in shoaly spots, not far from 

 the shore. Both kinds shoot in the spring, and die in autumn. 41 

 The phycos 42 which grows on the rocks in the neighbourhood 

 of Crete, is used also for dyeing purple ; the best kind being 

 that produced on the north side of the island, which is the 

 case also with sponges of the very best quality. A third kmd, 4a 

 again, is similar in appearance to grass ; the root of it is 

 knotted, and so is the stalk, which resembles that of a reed. 



CHAP. 49. THE SEA BRYON. 



There is another kind of marine shrub, known by the name 

 of " bryon ;" 44 it has the leaf of the lettuce, only that it is 

 of a more wrinkled appearance; it grows nearer land, too, than 

 the last. Par out at sea we find a fir-tree 45 and an oak, 4G 

 each a cubit in height ; shells are found adhering to their 

 branches. It is said that this sea-oak is used for dyeing wool, 

 and that some of them even bear acorns 47 in the sea, a fact which 

 has been ascertained by shipwrecked persons and divers. There 

 are other marine trees also of remarkable size, found in the 

 vicinity of Sicyon ; the sea- vine, 48 indeed, grows everywhere. 

 The sea-fig w is destitute of leaves, and the bark is red. There 



38 The " green " plant. 39 The " girdle " plant. 



40 The Fucus barbatus, probably, of Linnaeus, or else the Fucus eroides. 



41 They are in reality more long-lived than this. 



43 Fee suggests that it is the Roccella tinctoria of Linnaeus. 



43 The Zostera marina of Linnaeus, according to Fee. 



44 The Ulva lactuca of the moderns, a very common sea-weed. 



45 The Fucus ericoidcs, Fee suggests, not unlike a fir in appearance. 



46 Quercus. According to Gmellin, this is the Fucus vesiculosus of Lin- 

 naeus. Its leaves are indented, somewhat similarly to those of the oak. 



47 Polybius, as quoted by Athenaeus, says that in the Lusitanian Sea 

 there are oaks that bear acorns, on which the thunnies feed and grow fat. 



48 On the contrary, Theophrastus says, B. iv. c. 7, that the sea-vine 

 grows near the sea, from which Fee is disposed to consider it a phaneroga- 

 mous plant. If, on the other hand, it is really a fucus, he thinks that the 

 Fucus uvarius may be meant, the vesicles of which resemble a grape in 

 shape. 



49 He speaks of a madrepore, Fee thinks, the identity of which it is 



