PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 



in radice suci. amara et aphace et quae picris 

 nominatur, et ipsa toto anno florens. nomen ei 

 amaritudo inposuit. 



106 LXVI. Notabilis et scillae crocique natura, quod, 

 cum omnes herbae folium primum emittant, mox in 

 caulem rotundentur, in his cauHs prior intellegitur 

 quam folium. et in croco quidem flos inpellitur 

 caule, in scilla vero caulis exit, deinde ex eo flos 

 emergit. eademque ter floret, ut diximus, tria 

 tempora arationum ostendens. 



107 LXVII. Bulborum generi quidam adnumerant et 

 cvpiri, hoc est gladioH, radicem. dulcis ea est et 

 quae decocta panem etiam gratiorem faciat pon- 

 derosioremque simul subacta. non dissimiUs ei est 

 quae thesium vocatur, gustu aspera. 



108 LX\'III. Ceterae eiusdem generis foUo difFerunt : 

 asphodelus oblongum et angustum habet, scilla 

 latum et tractabile, gladiolus simile nomini. aspho- 

 delus manditur et semine tosto et bulbo, set hoc 

 in cinere tosto, dein sale et oleo addito, praeterea 

 tuso cum ficis, praecipua voluptate, ut videtur 



" Here probably the genus, not the saffron crocus in 

 particular. This seems likely from Pliny's authority, 

 Theophrastus, H.P. VII. 13, 2. 



" XVIII. § 244. 



' Theophrastus has dporos (VII. 13, 6), which Hort 

 translates " seed-time." 



^ It is difEcult to see why the translators render : " when 

 boiled and kneaded with bread makes it etc." So too 

 Hort, translating Theophrastus VII. 12, 3 : 17 tov <f>aayavov 

 KaXovfXivri {sc. pit,a) •yXvKeia n iipriOeloa, Kal Tpi^iQelaa ixi.yvvfj.evr] 

 TU) aXevpcu TTOiet tov dprov yXvKvv Kal daivfj. eiprjdelaa goes 

 with yXvKe^id {eariv) and Tpi(f>6eTaa with TToiei. But ponderosi- 

 orem is a strange rendering of daivrj (" wholesome," Hort), 

 and Mayhoff suggests sfongiosiorem without, however, print- 

 ing it m his text. 



238 



