140 THE CONIFEROUS PLANTS OF ITALY. 



ceding year. He says that the Juniper has no flowers, and 

 adds that some, by a mistake, suppose that tliere are two sorts : 

 one with flowers and the other with fruits ;* this assertion refers 

 perhaps to the two sexes, which in this plant are on different 

 individuals. 



By Oxycedrus the Greek and Roman writers meant the 

 present Juniperus Oxycedrus, and probably macrocarpa, which 

 they no doubt distinguished as little as do most botanists of the 

 present day. Pliny mentions it when speaking of J. phcenicea, 

 and says that it resembles the Juniper by its sharp prickly 

 leaves ; this is, indeed, the distinguishing mark between the 

 Oxycedrus and phcenicea. His statement that it is branching 

 and knotty, and that its fruit is as large as that of the myrtle, 

 agrees very well with our oxycedrus and macrocarpa. On the 

 other hand, it cannot be said that its fruit is sweet. When, 

 besides, he supposes that it only grows in Phoenicia, his error 

 probably arises from his following the Greek authors. "j" 



Juniperus phoiuicea was also known to the ancients; it was 

 the Cedrus, Citrus, and Citrea of the Romans. It is placed in 

 the same rank as the Juniperus and Oxycedrus by Pliny and 

 Vitruvius ; but they add that its leaves are like those of the 

 Cypress. This resemblance is, indeed, the most striking dis» 

 tinction,:}: and their observation evidently proves that neither the 

 Cedar of Lebanon, which the ancients also called Cedrus, nor 

 the Citron-tree, which they called Citrus, can here be meant. 

 When Pliny talks of the great Cedar {Cedriis major), it is not 

 •quite clear whether he means the Cedar of Lebanon ov Juniperus 

 phcenicea. The last supposition is supported by the fact that, 

 according to the description, the sexes are on different plants ; 

 and the first, by the remark relating to the lasting character of 

 the wood and its utility for making statues of the gods. Its seed 

 is said to resemble that of the cypress. This agrees with Juni- 

 perus j)hcenicea better than with the Cedar, if we suppose Pliny 

 observed accurately the difference between the seeds and berries. 

 The seeds of the Cedar are much larger and have a large per- 



* Pliny, xvi. 38 — " Junipero spina pro folio est." Ik. 44 — " Juniperus 

 annifera habetur ; novusque fructus cum annotino pendet." lb. 40 — " Nee 

 Juniperi florent (at another place he says the same of the Picea, Larix, and 

 Pinas). Quidem earum duo genera tradimt, alteram florere nee ferre, quae 

 veru non floreat ferre protinus baccis nascentibus, quae bieunio haereant. Sed 

 id falsum omnibusque iis dura facies semper." 



f Plini/, x'u'i. 11 — "Juniperi similem habent Phoenices et cednim mi- 

 noreni. Duo ejus genera Lycia et Phoenicia, difieruut folio : nam quae 

 durum, acutum, spinosum habet, oxycedros vocatur, raniosa et nodis infesta : 

 altera odore pra;stat. Fructura ferunt myrti niagnitudine, dulcem sapore."' 



I Pliny, xvi. 44 — " Citrese et Juniperus omnifera; habentur." — Vitruv. 

 ii. 9 — " Arboris ejus (Cedri) sunt similes cupressea; foliaturse.'" 



