50 THE TREES AND SHRUBS [LECT. 



of Theocritus. See this further described under 

 that word. 



Pliny b says, that the flowers of the Spina are 

 used for garlands, but perhaps he may refer to 

 the Acanthus, rather than to the May. 



Cornus mascula, of Linnaeus, is the Cornel of Eng- 

 lish botanists. Theophrastus describes it under the 

 name of Kpaveia c . Pliny d mentions -the flavour of 

 the fruit of the Cornel, Cornum, and in lib. xvi. 43 

 describes the latter as white at first, but afterwards 

 becoming of the colour of blood. 



The Arbutus unedo, or Strawberry-tree of modern 

 botanists, was common in ancient times, as it is 

 at present, in Greece, and Italy. In the former 

 country it went by the name of Ko/jiapoy. 



Theophrastus describes it as a tree not grow- 

 ing to large dimensions, possessing an edible fruit, 

 called fjie^aLKvXov, a smooth bark, and a leaf inter- 

 mediate between the Oak and the Bay Laurel. 

 Each blossom equals in size and form a long Myrtle 

 blossom, so that it is formed like an egg-shell cut 

 in half, KoiXov cocnrep a>di> ey/ceKoAayu/>iefOj>. The 

 fruit takes a year to ripen, so that it often is found 

 on the tree at the time when the new buds make 

 their appearance. 



It is supposed to be alluded to by Lucretius f , 

 but Caspar Bauhin considers the tree there spoken 

 of under the name of Arbutus to be the Vitis idcea, 

 Vaccinium myrtillus. 



b Lib. xxi. c. 39. H. PI. iii. 12. " Lib. xv. c. 31. 



H. PI. iii. 15.' < Lib. v. 939. 



