Trees, Shrubs, and Plants of Virgil 

 Hedera, or Edera. 



' hederae iiigrae ' {Ge. ii. 258). 

 '^' hedera pallente ' (Ec. iii. 39 ; cf . Ge. iv. 124). 

 ' hedera formosior alba ' {Ec. vii. 38). 

 ' errantes hederas ' (Ec. iv. 19). 

 ' hedera crescentem ornate poetam ' 



(Ec. vii. 25 ; cf. Ec. viii. 13). 



The ivy (Hedera helix) as an evergreen was sacred 

 to Bacchus, and, since wine was a source of in- 

 spiration, became one of the emblems of the poet. 

 Virgil claims it especially for the woodland poet, 

 who does not claim rank with Homer or Pindar. 

 He hopes that Pollio will place his protdgd's spray 

 of ivy among his own victorious bays. The berries 

 of the common ivy are black, but those of a rare 

 variety, H. chrysocarpa, are yellow, and Pliny says 

 that these were preferred for the poet's crown. 

 Virgil implies that the Corycian grew this variety in 

 his garden. According to Arcangeli, it grows in the 

 Neapolitan district and near Rome and Florence. 

 The gardener may have got it from Naples, whether 

 for the sake of its rarity and beauty or to give honey 

 to his bees. As it does not flower until September, 

 it would perhaps not be very valuable for the latter 

 purpose. Columella, however, says that ivy supplies 

 bees with very much honey, though it is not of the 

 best quality. It may be doubted whether Virgil 

 when he wrote the Eclogues had yet seen the yellow 

 fruited variety. He probably owed his knowledge of 

 it to Theocritus. 



It is difficult to see why Virgil reckoned the 

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