ADDITIONAL NOTES 



The word coma in Plinj', like Kofir] in Greek, is sometimes 

 perplexing when it is used, not literally, but of a part of a plant 

 or tree. This is especiaUy true when the word folium oecurs 

 in the immediate context. 



When used in its strict sense coma is the hair of the head, 

 and so can be coupled with barba. We should expect, there- 

 fore, to find it used figuratively of anything that grows at 

 the top of a plant or tree, such as the tuft of a bulrush ; see 

 PUny XXVI § 62 in cacuminibus coma iunci. In several 

 passages, however, coma seems to be foliage generaUj', while 

 folium is used of a single leaf. Examples are : 



XII § 113. folium proximum tuberi, perpeiua coma. 



XVI § 84. neque his autem quae semper retinent comwi 

 eademfolia durant. 



XIX § 102. schislam hieme cum coma sua relinquunt, 

 vere folia detrahunt. 



In Dioscorides IV § 129 there is a distinct contrast between 

 (f>vXXa and Koiir], which leads MayhofiF in the paraUel passage of 

 PUny (XXVII § 93) to substitute coma for the concava of the 

 MSS. Here Mayhoff suggests, without adopting it, comantia, 

 citing as a paraUel XIII § 59, semper comantibus foliis. Here, 

 however, the addition of semper makes a difference. Leaves 

 can be semper comantia, " evergreen," but one could hardly 

 say that the leaves are " like those of wild myrtle, comantia, 

 spinosa." The passage of Dioscorides reads : yivpaivrj aypiq. 

 . . . exav ra ivXXa o^toia, KopL-qv §€ dKavdwS-q k.t.X. Here there 

 seems to be a real difference between the two words, nor can 

 /cdftT) be a filament, as that could hardly be aKavdwbTjs. 



There remain those passages where comae means " hair- 

 Hke fiJaments," the clearest being XXVI § 133 : dependere 

 comis iunceis multis, nigris, ut ex eq-uorum cauda. Two 

 dubious instances near the beginning of Book XXVII caU for 

 special notice. In § 26 we have : comae tritae sanguineo suco 



482 



