CHAP. 11. (8.)—CACHRYS.
The robur bears cachrys,2264 too; such being the name given to a small round ball that is employed in medicine for its caustic properties. It grows on the fir likewise, the larch, the pitch-tree, the linden, the nut-tree, and the plane, and remains on the tree throughout the winter, after the leaves have fallen. It contains a kernel very similar to that of the pine-nut, and increases in size during the winter. In spring the ball opens throughout, and it finally drops when the leaves are beginning to grow.
Such is the multiplicity of the products borne by the robur in addition to its acorns; and not only these, but mushrooms2265 as well, of better or worse quality, the most recent stimulants that have been discovered for the appetite; these last are found growing about its roots. Those of the quercus are the most highly esteemed, while those of the robur, the cypress, and the pine are injurious.2266 The robur produces mistletoe2267 also, and, if we may believe Hesiod,2268 honey as well: indeed, it is a well-known fact, that a honey-like2269 dew falling from heaven, as we have already mentioned,2270 deposits itself upon the leaves of this tree in preference to those of any other. It is also well known that the wood of this tree, when burnt, produces a nitrous2271 ash.