ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. w. 4-5 



\\hich 1 men sometimes even live. The roots as they 

 grow are easily distinguished from the branches, 

 being whiter hairy crooked and leafless. 2 The 

 foliage above is also abundant, and the whole tree is 

 round and exceedingly large. They say that it 

 extends its shade for as much as two furlongs ; and 

 the thickness of the stem is in some instances more 

 than sixty 3 paces, while many specimens are as 

 much as forty 3 paces through. The leaf is quite as 

 large as a shield, 4 but the fruit is very small, 5 only as 

 large as a chick-pea, and it resembles a fig. And 

 this is why the Greeks 6 named this tree a ' fig-tree.' 

 The fruit is curiously scanty, not only relatively to 

 the size of the tree, but absolutely. The tree also 

 grows near the river Akesines. 7 



O 



There is also another tree 8 which is very large 

 and has wonderfully sweet and large fruit ; it is 

 used for food by the sages of India who wear no 

 clothes. 



There is another tree 9 whose leaf is oblong in 

 shape, like the feathers of the ostrich ; this they 

 fasten on to their helmets, and it is about two cubits 

 long. 



There is also another 10 whose fruit is long and not 

 straight, but crooked, and it is sweet to the taste. 

 This causes griping in the stomach and dysentery ; 

 wherefore Alexander ordered that it should not be 

 eaten. There is also another n whose fruit is like the 

 fruit of the cornelian cherry. 



4 WATT? : a small round shield. :> cf. G.P. 2. 10. 2. 

 15 i.e. in Alexander's expedition. 7 Chenab. 

 8 Jack-fruit. See Index App. (3). Plin. 12. 24. 

 y Banana. See Index App. (4). 



10 Mango. See Index App. (5). Plin. 12. 24. 



11 Jujube. See Index App. (6). 



3'5 



