BOOK XXVII. III. ii-v. 14 



and hollowed by many axils.<* The seed is Hke that of 

 vetch, white and geminate ; the roots are numerous, 

 long, fleshy, soft, and gluey to the taste.*" When 

 dry these become black and hard, so that they might 

 be taken for horns. This plant " grows not only in 

 Aethiopia, but also on Mount Ida in the Troad and 

 in Messenia. The roots are gathered in autumn and 

 dried in the sun for some days to prevent their 

 growing mouldy. Taken in white wine they are a 

 remedy for uterine troubles, and a decoction is given 

 by the mouth for sciatica, pleurisy and rough ^ 

 throats. The Aethiopian kind, however, gives the 

 greatest, and immediate, rehef. 



IV. Ageraton resembles fennel-giant, is two spans Ageram. 

 high and like origanum, and the flowers are golden 

 knobs. The fumes when the plant is burnt are 

 diuretic and purge the uterus : used in a sitz bath 



the plant does this more effectively. The reason 

 for the name is [not this but] * because it lasts for a 

 long time without fading./ 



V. The aloe bears a resemblance to the squill, ^ioe. 

 but it is larger, and has more fleshy leaves, and with 

 slanting streaks. Its stem is tender, red in the 

 centre, and not unlike anthericus ; the root is single, 



as it were a stake sunk into the ground.? It has 

 an oppressive smell, and a bitter taste. The most 

 valued kind is imported from India, but it also grows 

 in the province of Asia. This kind is used only for 



' Bracketed by some, but may be an allusion to a supposed 



derivation from ayeiv, or from agere " to drive " (i.e. " purge "). 



^ In Greek the plant is ayrjpaTov, " not growing old." 



» Mayhoff puts a full stop at striaki and a scmicolon at 



demissa, adding ipsa. Dioscorides (III 22) has 0A77. The 



parenthesis, however, is after the manner of Pliny. 



397 



