130* Mr Link on the Ancient History of 
note only varieties of Succory or Endive, which itself may be 
only a variety of Succory. (Theophrast. Hist. PI. 1. vii. 
c. 1 1. s. 3.), which is also called (Dioscor. 1. ii. c. 160.), 
and by the Latins Intyhus (Galen, de Aliment. Facultat. 1. i.), 
is so described by the ancients, that the description suits com- 
pletely our Succory or Endive. (See particularly Theophrast. 
1. vii. c. 8. s. 3.) Willdenow thinks the Endive grows wild in 
the East Indies, because he had a specimen from thence ; but 
it is much to be doubted whether'it be the same species. Succory 
is well known as a wild plant throughout the whole of Europe. 
There was a plant very common, and from the earliest times 
cultivated by the Greeks and Romans, the use of which has 
been quite lost since the middle ages : it is the Malva of the 
Romans, of the Greeks. That the ancients, by the word 
which word is used by Hesiod, or meant one of 
the Malvacea, is evident, from the excellent description of the 
fruit of Phanias in Athenaeus (1. ii. c. 5J2.), to which the Malva 
is well known to have been related. But what plants of this 
genus were eaten, is not easily determined. The ancients dis- 
tinguished between the wild Malva and the cultivated, (Dioscor.^ 
1. ii. c. 144.) ; and Theophrastus says, respecting the latter, that 
it is almost shrubby, (Hist. PI. 1. i,. c. 5.) Hence Sprengel also 
considers this plant to have been Lavatera arhorea^ and Sib- 
thorp considers it as Alcea rosea^ which commonly grows wild 
in Greece. But the leaves of these plants are very hard. Pro- 
bably another large, but tender, species of the Malva is desig- 
nated by this name, perhaps Malva crispa^ a plant which is 
suspected to be a native of the East, having tender leaves, and 
a stem which is often very high. It does not follow from the 
writings of the ancients, that the Malva grows wild in Greece,, 
because what they call wild and cultivated plants, are often 
different species, as we have seen above respecting Lactiica, 
But the ancients had also another smaller species (Plin. 1. xx. 
c. SI. Afric. 1. hi. c. 8.), which is probably M, rotundfolia. 
They made this plant savoury with some additions to it. 
The Beet {Beta ruhra^ and Cicla) was well known to the- 
ancients, and respecting its designation there is no doubt. The 
Romans named it Beta^ the Greeks tswtA;?, or G-ivrXm, 
Theophrastus distinguishes two species (Hist. PI. 1. vii. c. 4. § 4.)‘, 
the black, which we called the red, and the white. Instead of 
