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The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 3 (of 6) cover

The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 3 (of 6)

Chapter 233: CHAP. 48. (25.)—THE TREES AND SHRUBS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. THE PHYCOS, PRASON, OR ZOSTER.
By the Elder Pliny
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The work assembles systematic observations on animals, insects, and trees, combining natural history with practical notes. It surveys insect forms and habits, including bees, silk‑producing worms, spiders, and parasitic species, and discusses reproduction, classification, diseases, and useful products like honey and silk. It then examines animal anatomy in detail, limb by limb and organ by organ, comparing organs, vital functions, and bodily peculiarities across species. Later sections catalogue trees and exotic plants, describing aromatic gums, spices, frankincense, myrrh, and methods for producing and testing unguents and perfumes, and noting their uses and regions of origin.

CHAP. 48. (25.)—THE TREES AND SHRUBS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. THE PHYCOS, PRASON, OR ZOSTER.

Shrubs and trees grow in the sea1005 as well; those of our sea1006 are of inferior size, while, on the other hand, the Red Sea and all the Eastern Ocean are filled with dense forests. No other language has any name for the shrub which is known to the Greeks as the “phycos,”1007 since by the word “alga”1008 a mere herb is generally understood, while the “phycos” is a complete shrub. This plant has a broad leaf of a green colour, which is by some called “prason,”1009 and by others is known as “zoster.”1010 Another kind,1011 again, has a hairy sort of leaf, very similar to fennel, and grows upon rocks, while that previously mentioned grows in shoaly spots, not far from the shore. Both kinds shoot in the spring, and die in autumn.1012 The phycos1013 which grows on the rocks in the neighbourhood of Crete, is used also for dyeing purple; the best kind being that produced on the north side of the island, which is the case also with sponges of the very best quality. A third kind,1014 again, is similar in appearance to grass; the root of it is knotted, and so is the stalk, which resembles that of a reed.