Trees, Shrubs, and Plants of Virgil 



fields. This is commended as fodder by agricultural 

 authorities, and some think that it is Virgil's plant. 

 Martyn took it for the white water-lily, but it seems 

 unlikely that this would be eaten by sheep, and 

 Martyn was misled by the mention in Theophrastus 

 of another ' lotus,' which has been identified with one 

 of the Nile water-lilies, which is not found in Italy. 



Flower : Celtis, April and May. 

 Lotus, May and June. 

 Italian names : Arcidiavolo, Spaccasassi, and 

 Lotu (Celtis). 

 Mullaghera (Lotus). 



LUPINUS, OR LUPINUM. 



' tristis . . . lupini . . . f ragiles calamos silvamque sonantem ' 



(Ge. i. 75). 



The common lupin (Lupinus albus) is of uncertain 

 origin, but is possibly wild in some parts of the 

 northern Apennines, and has long been cultivated 

 in the Mediterranean region. 



The epithet of ' tristis ' may refer to the slight 

 bitterness of the seeds, but possibly implies a false 

 etymology. Virgil may, in spite of the quantity of 

 the vowel, have derived lupin from Xinrrj, pain. 

 There can, however, be little doubt that the word 

 must be classed with foxglove and harebell and the 

 many plant names which come from beasts. It is 

 the plant of ' lupus,' the wolf. 



The lupin is grown both for the seeds and as 

 fodder, and thus, as Pliny says, is eaten both by 



72 



