Trees, Shrubs, and Plants of Virgil 



flower, though in fact the plant has nothing that 

 can be called lacrima. Evidently the word is taken 

 from Bd/cpvov, which means a bulblet formed in the 

 axles of the leaves as in the tiger-lily. Virgil says 

 that the bees use this tear for the foundation of the 

 combs or, as Mr. Royds interprets it, the propolis 

 by which the comb is glued to the hive. Here the 

 poet cannot have been writing from his own observa- 

 tion, but he returns to it when he adds that the bees 

 also use glue gathered from trees. 



The flower of our first passage can be certainly 

 identified through two statements of Theophrastus. 

 He says that the plant blossoms in autumn and that 

 the scape appears before the leaves. The only species 

 which answers to this statement is N. serotinus. It 

 agrees also with the rest of Theophrastus' descrip- 

 tion. It has a white perianth with a yellowish cup, 

 and it blossoms in September. Virgil's phrase im- 

 plies that there are vernal species as well. 



The plant is not common in Italy, but it is found 

 near Otranto, and the old Corycian may well have 

 got it thence. Virgil does not actually state that 

 his acquaintance grew it, but he seems to imply as 

 much. 



Flower, April and May (N. poeticus) ; Sep- 

 tember (N. serotinus). 



Italian names, Fior-magga, Narciso, Giracapo, 

 (N. poeticus). 



(The autumn narcissus is nowhere common enough 

 to have received a popular name.) 



8+ 



