78 MIDLAND NATURALIST. 
identification than of proof. The other authors, mostly in Latin 
are equally lucid, but they will be referred to only briefly. 
Parkinson* in his herbal refers to the plant in the following 
terms: ‘‘The Indian Figge tree, if you will call it a tree (because 
in our Country it is not so, although it groweth in the naturall hot 
Countries from a woody stemme or body into leaues) is a plant con- 
sisting only of leaues one springing out of another into many 
branches of leaues, all of them growing out of one leafe put into the 
ground halfe way, which taking roote all the rest rise out thereof, 
those below for the most part being larger than those above, yet all. 
of them somewhat long, flat, and round pointed, of the thickness 
of a finger vsually, and smallest at the lower end, where they are 
joined or spring out of the other leaues having at their first break- 
ing out a shew of small, red, or browne prickes, a few very fine and 
small hard white and sharpe, almost insensible prickes, being not so 
bigge as haires on the under side which will often sticke in their 
finger that handle them vnadvisedly, neither are they to be dis- 
cerned vnless one look precisely for them: The leaues on the 
onderside having none of those other great prickes or marks at all T being 
of a fresh pale greene colour: out of the uppermost leaues break 
forth certaine greene heads, very like unto leaues so that many are 
deceiued, thinking them to be leaues, vntill they marke them better 
and be better experienced in them: but that they growe round and 
not flat, and are broad at the toppe; for that out of the tops of euery 
of them shooteth out a pale yellow flower consisting of two 
rowes of leaues, each containing fiue leaues apeece, laid open with 
certaine yellow threads tipt with red in the middle: this greene 
head untill the flower be past, is not halfe that bignesse that it 
attaineth unto after, . . " etc. 
P- 433. ‘‘This Indian Figge tree groweth dispersedly in many 
Virginia, and in the Bermudas or Summer Islands: from whence 
wee haue often had it, the lesser in Virginia and those other 
countries that are near unto us: which better endureth with us. 
+ . Our people in Virginia, and the Bermuda Island, where it 
gtoweth plentifully, because of the form of the fruit, which is 
* John Parkinson. Paradisi in Sole, Paradisus Terrestris, 1629. 
+ Italics are the Editor's. 
