Intubum 



Italian names : Spaderello, Coltellaccio, Pan- 

 caciolo (Gladiolus). 

 Martagone (Lilium marta- 

 gon). 



Intubum. 



'amaris intuba fibris ' {Ge. i. 120). 



1 potis gauderent intuba rivis' {Ge. iv. 120). 



There is some uncertainty about this plant, but it 

 is probably endive, and some botanists hold that 

 endive is a cultivated form of Cichorium divaricatum, 

 a Mediterranean plant which is a rare native of 

 Italy. It is a salad plant, and being harder than 

 lettuce is of special value in the winter. It is best 

 blanched, since otherwise the bitterness of the leaves 

 is excessive. The same bitterness is found in the 

 root, and Columella may refer to the root or to the 

 leaves when he says that it is a stimulant to a torpid 

 palate. The plant is closely allied to succory or 

 chicory, of which various forms are grown both for 

 the root and for the blanched leaves. The form 

 of endive mostly grown in our gardens is said to 

 have been produced in China. 



Flower, April to June. 



Italian name, Endivia. 



Ilex. 



' ilice sub nigra' {Ec. vi. 54). 

 'sub arguta . . . ilice ' {Ec. vii. 1). 

 ' opaca I ilice ' {Ae. vi. 208 ; cf. Ae. xi. 851). 



The holm or holly-oak (Quercus ilex) is one of the 

 finest of Italian trees. There is a magnificent line 



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