134 FLOWERS AND GARDENS OF MADEIRA 



name of Purple Land is also given, and merely 

 relates to the fact that King Juba in the days of 

 Pliny contemplated the possibility of extracting a 

 purple dye, called " gsetuliaii purple," from the juice 

 of one of the numerous trees or plants which grew 

 on the island. This theory is supported by its 

 upholders by the fact that Ptolemy mentions an 

 island in this part of the Atlantic Ocean called 

 Erythea, or Red Island, which again may possibly 

 have reference to the dye. After these early days 

 there is no trace of the island in history for hundreds 

 of years, so it is more than problematical as to 

 whether the Purple Lands had any connection 

 with Madeira. 



There seems to be no end to the number of 

 legends and vague theories as to the discovery of 

 the group of islands. An Arab historian relates 

 the discovery of an island (possibly Madeira) by 

 an expedition of his people in the eleventh century, 

 who gave it the name of El Ghanam. These 

 travellers, known as the " Almagrarin adventurers," 

 set sail from Lisbon with the intention of discover- 

 ing something. Their name, meaning the " finders 

 of mares' nests," is suggestive of fabulous tales. 

 After being driven across unknown seas they came 

 to a district of " stinking and turbid waters," which 



