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

Shrubs and trees grow in the sea1 as well; those of our sea2 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,"3 since by the word "alga"4 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,"5 and by others is known as "zoster."6 Another kind,7 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.8 The phycos9 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,10 again, is similar in appearance to grass; the root of it is knotted, and so is the stalk, which resembles that of a reed.

1 He alludes to various kinds of fucus or sea-weed, which grows to a much larger size in the Eastern seas.

2 The Mediterranean.

3 Whence the word "fucus" of the naturalists.

4 Fée suggests that this may be the Laminaria saccharina of Linnæus, being one of the "ulvæ" often thrown up on the coasts of Europe.

5 The "green" plant.

6 The "girdle" plant.

7 The Fucus barbatus, probably, of Linnæus, or else the Fucus eroïdes.

8 They are in reality more long-lived than this.

9 Fée suggests that it is the Roccella tinctoria of Linnæus.

10 The Zostera marina of Linnæus, according to Fée .

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