the Hiftory of Plants. 
Chap. id. Of Tamarindes. 
Tantarindui. 
The Tamarinde. 
7 amarindi filiqttti. 
The cod of the Tamarinde. 
The Tufcripticn. 
T Amarinds, which at this day are a medicine frequently vfed, and vulgarly knowne in (hops, 
were hot knowne to the antient Greekes, but to fome of the later, as t^dfiuarius, and that by 
the name of Oxfphanica, that is,foure Dates, drawneas it may fecme from the Arab icke ap- 
pellation, Tamarind^ that is, Indian Date : but this name is vnproper, nei ther tree nor fruit being 
of any affinitie with the Date,vnle(Te the Arabicke T mar be a word vfed in compofition for fruits 
of many kindes,as the Grcekc msim, theLatine tJHalum, and Apple with vs in Englilh ; for we call 
the Cdne of the Pine, and excrefcence of the Oke leafe,by the name of Pine Apple, and Oke Ap- 
pie. But howloeuer it be, it is do matter for the name, whether it be proper or no, if fobe that it 
(erne to diftinguifh the thing from others, and we know what is denoted by it. In Malanar they 
call it Puti : in Guzarat, i^Arnbilifoy which name it is knowne in moft parts of the Eaft Indies. 
This tree is thus defcribed by Projper\*Alpinus>de Plant. ^Egypti, cap. io. The Tamarind (faith he) 
isatree of thebignefleofa Plum tree, with many boughes and leaueslike thofe of the Myrtle, 
many Handing vpon one rib [one againft another, with a fingle one at the end : ] it carrieth white, 
floures very like thofe of the Orange tree : out ofwhofe middle comes forth foure white and very 
(lender threds : after thefe come thickc and large cods, at firft greene, but when they are ripe ofan 
afh colour -and within thefeare contained thickc, hard, brownifh, cornered feeds, andablacke a- 
cide pulpe!Thefe trees grow in fome few gardens of Egypt, whither they hauebin Drought out of 
Arabia and Ethiopia.This plant hath this ftrange qualitie that the leaues alwaies follow the Sun, 
and when it fets they allcontraft themfelues,and open out therafelues againe at the riling there- 
of. and there is obferucd to be fuch force in this motion, that they clofely fhut vp and hold then 
cods (ifany be on the tree) and then at the rifing Of the Sun they forgo.- them againe. But I haue 
obferucd this folding vpofthe leaues to be common to diners other Egyptian plants, as catta , 
Atom, Thus nrjctfbdt of Mffoufi , 
