ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. v. 3-6 



are the trees of Pontus, or at least of certain districts 

 of that country. 



In the land of Propontis myrtle and bay are 

 found in many places on the mountains. Perhaps 

 however some trees should be put down as special 

 to particular places. For each district, as has been 

 said, has different trees, differing not only in that the 

 same trees occur but of variable quality, but also as 

 to producing or not producing some particular tree. 

 For instance, Tmolus and the Mysian Olympus have 

 the hazel and chestnut ^ in abundance, and also the 

 vine apple and pomegranate ; while Mount Ida has 

 some of these not at all and others only in small 

 quantity ; and in Macedonia and on the Pierian 

 Olympus some of these occur, but not others ; and 

 in Euboea and Magnesia the sweet chestnut ^ is com- 

 mon, l)ut none of the others is found ; nor yet on 

 Pelion or the other mountains of that region. 



Again it is only a narrow extent of country which 

 produces wood fit for shipbuilding at all, namely in 

 Europe the Macedonian region, and cei-tain parts ^ 

 of Thrace and Italy ; in Asia Cilicia Sinope and 

 Amisus, and also the Mysian Olympus, and Mount 

 Ida ; but in these parts it is not abundant. For Syria 

 has Syrian cedar, and they use this for their galleys. 



The like is true of trees which love water and 

 the riverside ; in the Adriatic region they say that 

 the plane is not found, except near the Shrine of 

 Diomedes,^ and that it is scarce throughout Italy * ; 

 yet there are many large rivers in both countries, 

 in spite of which the localities do not seem to 



^ On one of the islands of Diomedes, off the coast of 

 Apulia ; now called Isole di Tremiti. c/. Plin. 12. 6. 

 ■» c/. 2. 8. 1 n. 



