THE PLANTAIN. 241 



CHAP. xxi. Of the Plantain. 



Comming to the greater plants or trees at the Indies, the _ 

 first that shall be needefull to treate of is the Plantain/ or 

 Plantano, as the vulgar call it. I have been sometimes in 

 doubt whether the plane which the antients have so much 

 celebrated,, and that of the Indies, were of one kinde. But 

 if we compare this with what the antients write of the other, 

 without all doubt they will appeare to be very different. 

 The reason why the Spaniards call it platano (for the Indians 

 had no such name) was, as in other trees, for that they have 

 found some resemblance of the one with the other, even as 

 they called some fruites prunes, pines, and cucumbers, being 

 far different from those which are called by those names in 

 Castille. The thing wherein was most resemblance, in my 

 opinion, betwixt the platanos at the Indies and those which 

 the antients did celebrate, is the greatnes of the leaves, for 

 that these have them very great and coole, and the antients 

 did likewise much esteeme them for the greatnesse and 

 coolenesse of their leaves. It is also a plant that requireth 

 much water, and in a manner continually, which agrees with 

 the sacred Scripture that saith : &quot; Like to the plane neere Ecoi. a, 4. 

 the waters^. But in truth there is no more comparison nor 

 resemblance of the one with the other then there is, as the 

 Proverb saith, betwixt an egge and a chesnut. For, first, 

 the antient plane carries no fruit, at the least they made no 

 account therof, but the chiefest reason why they esteemed 

 it was for the shade, for that there was no more Suune 

 vnder a plane than viider a roofe. And contrariwise, the 

 reason why they shoulde regarde it at the Indies, yea make 

 great accompt thereof, is by reason of this fruite, which is 

 very good ; for they have little shade. Moreover, the 

 antient plane had the body so bigge, and the boughs so 

 spread, that Pliny reporteth of one Licinius, a Romane ii/ca. i. 



1 Platano. 



K 



