ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vni. 1-3 



plants growing in clumps. By l herbaceous ' I mean 

 here such plants as the marsh celery and the like ; 

 by l plants growing in clumps' I mean reeds galin- 

 gale phleo rush sedge which are common to almost 

 all rivers and such situations. 



And in some such places are found brambles 

 Christ's thorn and other trees, such as willow abele 

 plane. Some of these are water plants to the extent 

 of being submerged, while some project a little from 

 the water ; of some again the roots and a small part 

 of the stem are under water, but the rest of the 

 body is altogether above it. This is the case with 

 willow alder plane lime, and all water-loving trees. 



These too are common to almost all rivers, for 

 they grow even in the Nile. However the plane is 

 not abundant by rivers, while the abele is even more 

 scarce, and the manna-ash and ash are commonest. 

 At any rate of those x that grow in Egypt the list is 

 too long to enumerate separately ; however, to speak 

 generally, they are all edible and have sweet flavours. 

 But they differ in sweetness, and we may distinguish 

 also three as the most useful for food, namely the 

 papyrus, the plant called sari, and the plant which 

 they call mnasion. 



2 The papyrus does not grow in deep water, but 

 only in a depth of about two cubits, and sometimes 

 shallower. The thickness of the root is that of the 

 wrist of a stalwart man, and the length above four 

 cubits 3 ; it grows above the ground itself, throwing 

 down slender matted roots into the mud, and 

 producing above the stalks which give it its name 

 ' papyrus ' ; these are three-cornered and about ten 



2 Plin. 13. 71-73. 



Se'/ca TTTj^eis MSS. See next note. 



347 



