Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, BOOK XIII. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF EXOTIC TREES, AND AN ACCOUNT OF UNGUENTS., CHAP. 11.—THE CEDAR. TREES WHICH HAVE ON THEM THE FRUIT OF THREE YEARS AT ONCE.

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CHAP. 11.—THE CEDAR. TREES WHICH HAVE ON THEM THE FRUIT OF THREE YEARS AT ONCE.

Phœnicia, too, produces a small cedar, which bears a strong resemblance to the juniper.¹ Of this tree there are two varieties; the one found in Lycia, the other in Phœnicia.² The difference is in the leaf: the one in which it is hard, sharp, and prickly, being known as the oxycedros,³ a branchy tree and rugged with knots. The other kind is more esteemed for its powerful odour. The small cedar produces a fruit the size of a grain of myrrh, and of a sweetish taste. There are two kinds of the larger cedar⁴ also; the one that blossoms bears no fruit, while, on the other hand, the one that bears fruit has no blossom, and the fruit, as it falls, is being continually replaced by fresh. The seed of this tree is similar to that of the cypress. Some persons give this tree the name of "cedrelates." The resin produced from it is very highly praised, and the wood of it lasts for ever, for which reason it is that they have long been in the habit of using it for making the statues of the gods. In a temple at Rome there is a statue of Apollo Sosianus⁵ in cedar, originally brought from Seleucia. There is a tree similar to the cedar, found also in Arcadia; and there is a shrub that grows in Phrygia, known as the "cedrus."

1 The Juniperus communis of Linnæus.

2 The Juniperus Lycia, and the Juniperus Phœnicia, probably, of Lin- næus. It has been supposed by some, that it is these trees that produce the frankincense of Africa; but, as Fée observes, the subject is enveloped in considerable obscurity.

3 The "sharp-leaved" cedar. The Juniperus oxycedrus of Linnæus.

4 The "Pinus cedrus" of Linnæus. The name "cedrus" was given by the ancients not only to the cedar of Lebanon, but to many others of the Coniferæ as well, and more particularly to several varieties of the juniper.

5 See B. xxxvi. c. 4.

The Natural History. Pliny the Elder. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. London. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 1855.

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Pliny the Elder, The Natural History
John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.

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CHAP. 11.—THE CEDAR. TREES WHICH HAVE ON THEM THE FRUIT OF THREE YEARS AT ONCE.

Pliny the Elder, The Natural History John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.

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Table of Contents:

CHAP. 11.—THE CEDAR. TREES WHICH HAVE ON THEM THE FRUIT OF THREE YEARS AT ONCE.

Pliny the Elder, The Natural History
John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.