The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 3 · the Elder Pliny
CHAP. 20.—TREES OF PERSIS.
Adjoining the countries which we have previously mentioned is Persis, lying along the shores of the Red Sea, which, when describing[483] it, we have mentioned as the Persian Sea, the tides of which penetrate far into the land. The trees in these regions are of a marvellous nature; for, corroded by the action of the salt, and bearing a considerable resemblance to vegetable substances that have been thrown up and abandoned by the tide, they are seen to embrace the arid sands of the sea-shore with their naked roots, just like so many polypi. When the tide rises, buffeted by the waves, there they stand, fixed and immoveable; nay, more, at high water they are completely covered; a fact which proves to conviction, that they derive their nutriment from the salt contained in the water. The size of these trees is quite marvellous; in appearance they strongly resemble the arbute; the fruit, which on the outside is very similar to the almond, has a spiral kernel within.[484] CHAP. 21. (10.)—TREES OF THE ISLANDS OF THE PERSIAN SEA. THE COTTON TREE.
In the same gulf, there is the island of Tylos,[485] covered with a forest[486] on the side which looks towards the East, where it is washed also by the sea at high tides. Each of the trees is in size as large as the fig; the blossoms are of an indescribable sweetness, and the fruit is similar in shape to a lupine, but so rough and prickly, that it is never touched by any animal. On a more elevated plateau of the same island, we find trees that bear wool, but of a different nature from those of the Seres;[487] as in these trees the leaves produce nothing at all, and, indeed, might very readily be taken for those of the vine, were it not that they are of smaller size. They bear a kind of gourd, about the size of a quince;[488] which, when arrived at maturity, bursts asunder and discloses a ball of down, from which a costly kind of linen cloth is made. (11.) This tree is known by the name of gossypinus:[489] the smaller island of Tylos, which is ten miles distant from the larger one, produces it in even greater abundance. CHAP. 22.—THE TREE CALLED CYNA. TREES FROM WHICH FABRICS FOR CLOTHING ARE MADE IN THE EAST. Juba states, that about a certain shrub there grows a woolly down, from which a fabric is manufactured, preferable even to those of India. He adds, too, that certain trees of Arabia, from which vestments are made, are called cynæ, and that they have a leaf similar to that of the palm. Thus do their very trees afford clothing for the people of India. In the islands of Tylos, there is also another tree, with a blossom like the white violet[490] in appearance, though four times as large, but it is destitute of smell, a very remarkable fact in these climates.
CHAP. 23.—A COUNTRY WHERE THE TREES NEVER LOSE THEIR LEAVES. There is also another tree similar to the preceding one, but with a thicker foliage, and a blossom like the rose. This flower shuts[491] at night, and, beginning to open towards sun-rise, appears in full blow by mid-day; the natives are in the habit of saying that in this way it goes to sleep. The same island bears also the palm, the olive, the vine, and the fig, with various other kinds of fruit. None of the trees in this island lose their leaves;[492] it is abundantly watered by cool streams, and receives the benefit of rain. Arabia, which is in the vicinity of these islands, requires that we should make some distinction in its vegetable products, seeing that here the various parts of trees which are employed for useful purposes are the root, the branches, the bark, the juices, the gum, the wood, the shoots, the blossoms, the leaves, and the fruit. A root and a leaf, however, are the productions which are held in the very highest estimation in India. The root is that of the costus;[493] it has a burning taste in the mouth, and a most exquisite odour; in other respects, the branches are good for nothing. In the island of Patale,[494] situate at the very mouth of the river Indus, there are two kinds of costus found, the black and the white; the last is considered the best. The price of it is five denarii per pound.
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