Trees, Shrubs, and Plants of Virgil 



Laurus. 



' Parnasia laurus' {Ge. ii. i8). 



' virgulta sonantia lauro ' {Ae. xii. 522). 



In our gardens the name of laurel has been 

 usurped by an evergreen cherry, which came from 

 the Levant in the days of Charles II. The true 

 laurel is the bay (Laurus nobihs), from which we 

 get camphor and cinnamon. Associated with the 

 legend of Daphne, its name in Greek, it became 

 sacred to Apollo (Ae. iii. 82, 360). A soldier bore 

 it in a triumph to indicate that he was sanctified 

 from the pollution of blood. Sprays of it were 

 burnt in incantations and to get omens from the 

 crackling (Ec. viii. 83). It was also valued for its 

 aromatic scent, and Corydon joins it in his nosegay 

 -with the myrtle (Ec. ii. 54). Virgil tells the farmer 

 to gather the berries in the winter (Ge. i. 306) ; 

 they yield a scented oil. 



The bay is not uncommon in southern Italy, but 

 I do not know any thickets of it such as are de- 

 scribed in our second passage as victims of a forest 

 fire. It is propagated by suckers (Ge. ii. 18), 



Flower, March. 

 Italian name, Alloro. 



Lens. 



' Pelusiacae lentis ' {Ge. i. 228). 



The lentil (Vicia lens), a small blue -flowered 

 vetch, was one of the first leguminous plants to be 

 cultivated. Its native country is uncertain, but 



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