iv.] OF THE ANCIENTS. 113 



notices two kinds, white and black, was this plant. 

 Now Pliny informs us, that the (f)\6/jLOf of the 

 Greeks was the Verbascum of the Romans. 



It was not without reason, therefore, that the 

 old botanists gave this latter name to our common 

 Mullein. 



PHLOMIS. 



Three species of Phlomis are mentioned by Sib- 

 thorp as occurring in Greece, but of these only 

 one, P.fruticosa, is a shrub. It is identified by 

 Sibthorp with the 0Ao/-ioy aypla of Dioscorides d , 

 which, therefore, would be a different plant from 

 either of the two kinds mentioned above, and re- 

 ferred to Verbascum. It may be the Phlomis of 

 Pliny 6 , which he distinguishes from Phlomus above 

 noticed. 



The Roman naturalist describes two varieties, 

 both being hairy plants with rounded leaves, and 

 but slightly elevated above the ground. It is very 

 doubtful, however, whether this be a true iden- 

 tification. 



ROSMARINUS. 



The common Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis, is 

 noticed by Sibthorp as occurring in a few places 

 in Greece, and it is met with likewise in Italy. 

 We might expect, therefore, to see it noticed by 

 ancient writers, and Sibthorp considers that it is 

 the AifiaveoTis of the ancient Greeks, as it is known 



c Lib. xxviii. c. 13. d Lib. iv. 104. e Lib. XXY. 73. 



I 



