ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vn. 5-7 



in colour to almonds on the outside, but the inside 

 is coiled up as though the kernels were all united. 

 1 These trees are all eaten away up to the middle by 

 the sea and are held up by their roots, so that they 

 look like a cuttle-fish. For one may see this at 

 ebb-tide. And there is no rain at all in the district, 

 but certain channels are left, along which they sail, 

 and which are part of the sea. Which, some think, 

 makes it plain that the trees derive nourishment from 

 the sea and not from fresh water, except what they 

 draw up with their roots from the land. And it is 

 reasonable to suppose that this too is brackish ; for 

 the roots do not run to any depth. In general they 

 say that the trees which grow in the sea and those 

 which grow on the land and are overtaken by the 

 tide are of the same kind, and that those which grow 

 in the sea are small and look like seaweed, while 

 those that grow 2 on land are large and green and 

 have a fragrant flower and a fruit like a lupin. 



In the island of Tylos, 3 which is situated in the 

 Arabian gulf, 4 they say that on the east side there is 

 such a number of trees when the tide goes out that 

 they make a regular fence. All these are in size 

 as large as a fig-tree, the flower is exceedingly 

 fragrant, and the fruit, which is not edible, is like in 

 appearance to the lupin. They say that the island 

 also produces the ' wool-bearing ' tree (cotton-plant) 

 in abundance. This has a leaf like that of the vine, 

 but small, and bears no fruit ; but the vessel in which 

 the ' wool ' is contained is as large as a spring apple, 



3 <>u/co>577 (patvo^ei'a TO. 5' v conj. W. ; <$>VK. <pv. 8' *v MVAld. ; 

 U has (pepdfj.eva (?). 



3 cf. 5. 4. 6 ; Plin. 12. 38 and 39 ; modern name Bahrein. 



4 i.e. Persian Gulf. 



343 



