A Collection of Curious Travels and Voyages, Volume 1 · Part 1 · Chapter 4
CHAP. IV.
A Deſcription of the Plants I gathered at Tripoli.
COnſidering that I undertook this Journey into the Eaſtern Countries, not only to ſee theſe People, and to obſerve their Manners, &c. but alſo, and that principally, diligently to enquire, and to ſearch out the Plants that were growing there. I cannot but ſhortly deſcribe thoſe I found about Tripoli during my ſtay there, and will begin with ſuch as grew on the Sea-ſhores, which were: Medica marina, Gnaphalium marinum, Leucoium marinum, Juncus maritimus, Peplis, Scammonium Monſpelienſe, which the Natives call Meudheuds; but Rhaſis in his Book ad Almanſ. calleth it Coriziala, Braſſica marina, which ſpreads its Roots above the Sand for ſome Cubits round, and has inſtead of round Leaves rather ſquare ones. A kind of wild white Lillies by the Latins and Greeks called Hemerocallis, which did not only grow on the Sea-ſhore, but alſo in Iſlands thereabout in great plenty; with a great many others, which I forbear to mention here, being common: Behind the Cuſtom-houſe, near the Harbour, I found in the Ruines of the old Wall that are left of that City, Hyoſcyamus, and hard by it in the Sand an Herb not unlike unto Cantabrica ſecunda Caroli Cluſii, ſaving only the Stalks and Leaves which are woolly. But the Ricinus groweth there above all in ſo great plenty, that you can hardly make your way through it, the Inhabitants call it ſtill by its old Arabian Name Kerva.
If you turn from thence to the High-way towards your Right-hand, you ſee the Tythimalus Paralius, and alſo a kind of Conyza Dioſc. out of one Root there ſpring up ſeveral Stalks, whereof ſome grow upright, but the greater part of them lie down upon the ground, and ſo ſhoot new Roots, which afterwards ſprout out into new Stalks: it beareth long Olive-leaves, which are thick, fattiſh, and ſomewhat woolly, and have a ſtrong, and equally ſweet ſmell: for the reſt, as the Flowers, it is very like unto the great one. You find there alſo the leſſer and greater Medica, which the Moors to this day ſtill call Faſa. Likewiſe ſo great and many Squills, that the Inhabitants weed them up, chiefly thoſe that grow near their Gardens, and fling them up in high heaps like Stones. There alſo groweth Securidaca minor, Tribulus terreſtris, by the Inhabitants called Haſeck, and a kind of Echium, which groweth by the way as you go to St. Jame's Church, which from thence is ſituated upon an aſcent at a Mile's diſtance. Hereabout, and in other adjacent places, groweth a great quantity of Sugar-canes, ſo that there is yearly ſold a great many Sugar-loaves that are made thereof. Theſe are as high and big as our Canes, and not much differing from them, but within, and down towards the Root, where they are beſt, they are full of this pleaſant Juice, wherefore the Turks and Moors buy a great many of them, being very pleaſant to them to chew and eat, for they are mightily pleaſed with Sweet-meats (whereof they have variety.) Before they begin to eat or chew them, they ſtript off the long Leaves and cut away what is taſteleſs, ſo that only the juicy and good remaineth, which is hardly two Foot. Of the thus prepared Canes they carry many along with them through the Streets, and cut off one piece after another, skale them, and ſo chew and eat them openly every where in the Street without ſhame; for they are, principally near the Root, very tender and feel as mellow between your Teeth as if it were Sugar it ſelf. So the Turks uſe themſelves to Gluttony, and are no more ſo free and couragious to go againſt their Enemies to fight as they have been in former Ages. The Sugar Canes do not grow there from Seeds, neither are they propagated by the Root, but by the Canes themſelves, whereof they lay into the Ground, ſome green pieces of two or three Joints long, and that they may grow the ſooner, they bore prety large holes in between the Joints; when they begin to grow they ſprout out in the Joints, and grow up into great Canes, and ſo bring in good profit.
There alſo by the Rivers are found Anthillis marina, Viſnaga, the firſt Apocymum, and Oleander with Purple Flowers, by the Inhabitants called Defle, and a delicate kind of Scabioſa Meliſra Maluca, and if you go to the Gardens, you ſee Heliotropium majus, Convolvulus folio acuto, Vitis nigra, Phaſeolus Turcicus, with yellow Flowers, which ſtill retain the ancient Name of Lubie, Lyſimachia lutea, and wild Vines called Labruſcae, whereon nothing groweth but only the Flowers called Ocnanthe: and alſo a Shrub like unto the Polygonus of Carol Cluſius; which climbs up into high Trees, and hang down again from the Twigs, and I very believe they are the ſame with Ephedra, whereof Pliny maketh mention in the 7th Chapter of his 26th Book.
When I went farther, with an intention to conſider the Plants that grew in the Country, firſt came before me ſome Sycomors, whereof chiefly Dioſcorides and Theophraſtus make mention, and tell us of two ſorts, and when I called theſe things to mind, I light of one of the ſecond ſort of Sycomors, whereof abundance grow in Cyprus, wherefore theſe wild Figg-Trees might be called the one the Cypriſh Sycomore-Tree, and the other the Aegyptian Sycomore-Tree, according to the places where they are moſt frequent and fruitful. I found a great many of them, the Moors and Arabians call them Mumeitz, they are as great and as high as the white Mulberry-Trees, and have almoſt the ſame Leaves, but they are only ſomewhat rounder, and are alſo whole at or about the ſides, they bear Fruit not unlike to our Figg-Trees, only they are ſweeter, and have no little Seeds within, and are not ſo good, wherefore they are not eſteemed, and are commonly ſold only to the poorer ſort of People, they grow in all Fields and Grounds, as you may ſee by the Words of the ſecond Book of the Chronicles in the 9th. Chap. Verſ. 27th. And the King made Silver in Jeruſalem as Stones, and Cedar-Trees made he as the Sycomore-Trees that are in the low Plains in abundance. Zacheus did climb upon ſuch a one when he had a great mind to ſee our Saviour, Eſſaias alſo maketh mention of them in his 9th. Chap. Verſ. 10. and Amos in his 7th. Chap. Verſ. 14. where he ſaith of himſelf: I was a Herds-man, and a Gatherer of Sycomore-Fruit. Theſe two ſorts are very like one another, in Stem, Leaves, and Fruit, only as the Fruit of the one comes more out of the great Stem and great Twigs, ſo that of the other does the ſame, but not out of the Stems and Twigs immediately, but out of Twigs or Sprouts without Leaves of the length of five or ſix Inches, whereon they grow ſometimes very thick, and in a bunch together. Theſe Trees bear Fruit three or four times yearly, which are ſmall, of an Aſh colour, oblong round, like Prunes, and are found upon the Trees almoſt all the Year long. Hereabout alſo grow many Thorns, whereof is made mention in the Scriptures, by the Inhabitants called Hauſeit, and by the Arabians Hauſegi, but the Latins call them Ahamnus, and alſo white Poplars, ſtill to this day called Haur by the Arabians. There alſo groweth a great and high Tree which beareth delicate Leaves and Flowers pleaſant to look upon (by the Inhabitants called Zenſetacht, but by Rhazes and Avicenna, Aſtirgar, & Aſtergir, and Azadaracht) whereof you ſee here and there ſeveral planted in the Streets, to make a pleaſant Shade in the Summer, the Fruit thereof remaineth upon them all the Year long, until they put out again a new, for they are hurtful, and kill the Dogs if they eat thereof.
Near the Town upon the Highlands (where you ſee abundance of Corn-fields, and abundance of pleaſant Olive-Trees, that reach quite up to Mount Libanus) are found Polium montanum, Pecten veneris, ferrum equinum, Chamaeleon niger, with its ſharp pointed and black Roots and Leaves, very like unto the Leaves of Carlina, whereof the Stalks are of a reddiſh colour, a Span long, and of the thickneſs of a Finger: whereon are ſmall prickly Heads, of a blewiſh colour, not unlike to theſe of the little Eryngium. Another fine Plant grows thereabout, called Sathar in their Language, but when I conſider its beautiful Purple-coloured Flowers, and its ſmall Leaves which are ſomething long withall, I rather judge it to be the Haſce of the Arabians, or the true Thyme of Dioſc. which we call Serpillum Romanum. It hath ſo pleaſant an Acrimony, as any Spice can have, wherefore the Inhabitants uſe it very much, whole or in pouder, at home and abroad, with and without their Meat, chiefly for to correct an ill digeſtion of their Stomach. This Herb is never found in our Apothecaries Shops, they take another in its room, which hath leſſer and greener Heads, and is rather the firſt Satureia of Dioſc. brought from Candia. There are alſo two ſorts of Clinopodium, whereof the leſſer and tenderer (conſidering its long Stalks, Leaves and Flowers, which grow in good order, and at equal diſtances one over the other) may very well be taken for the true one of the Dioſc. There are alſo Ilex minor, Sabina baccifera, Terebinthus and many more.
In the Town are found ſeveral ſtrange Plants, one called Muſa, whereof the Stalks are from nine to twelve Foot high, which are ſmooth, and without (they are incloſed in their Leaves, and often quite ſurrounded like our Reeds) of a fine ſhining Green; at the top thereof the Leaves ſpread themſelves out, and look like a great buſh of Feathers, for they are very long, and ſo broad that the biggeſt Perſon may lie upon them with his whole Body very well. Theſe Leaves have a rib in the middle, which keepeth them up ſtreight, and ſo ſtrongly, that although the Wind breaketh them at the ſides in ſeveral places, yet notwithſtanding they remain upright. Theſe Trees bear their Fruit no more but once, wherefore they are cut down, and ſo the Root ſhoots out ſeveral other Stalks about a Foot diſtant from the old one, which grow up again, and bring forth Fruit, which groweth on a thick Stalk in great numbers; they are almoſt ſhaped like the Citruls, round and bended, only they are leſs, ſmooth without, environed with a thick rind, which is firſt yellow, but when they are kept a few days it grows black, it is eaſily ſeparated when they are new, within they are whitiſh, full of Seeds; ſweet and good to eat; but they fill mightily, and are apt to gripe: wherefore (as Theophraſtus mentioneth in the 5th. Chapter of his 4th. Book) Alexander the Great, forbid his Army to eat them, when he went into the Indies. There groweth but very little of this Fruit about Tripoli, but it is brought from the Neighbouring places plentifully. We alſo find there another Tree, not unlike unto our Privett, by the Arabians called Alcanna, or Henne, and by the Grecians in their vulgar Tongue Schenna, which they have from Egypt, where (but above all in Cayro) they grow in abundance. The Turks and Moors nurſe theſe up with great care and diligence, becauſe of their ſweet-ſmelling Flowers, and put them into earthen Pots, or wooden Caſes or Boxes, to keep them in the Winter in Vaults from the Froſt, which they cannot endure. And becauſe they hardly begin to ſprout before Auguſt, they water them with Soapſuds, but others lay Lime about the Root, to make it put forth the earlier, that it may flower the ſooner, becauſe of the pleaſantneſs of the Smell of the Flowers, which is ſomewhat like Musk: They are of a pale yellow colour, and ſtand in Spikes of the length of a Span, but not very cloſe, ſo that Leaves appear between them; Their Twigs are alſo of the ſame colour, whereof many ſent to us, to cleanſe the Teeth with them, as it were with a Bruſh, when they are bruiſed a little at the ends. They alſo (as I am informed) keep their Leaves all Winter, which Leaves they powder and mix with the Juice of Citrons, and ſtain therewith, againſt great Holydays, their Hair and Nails of their Children of a red colour. Which colour perhaps may be ſeen with us on the Mains and Tails of Turkiſh Horſes. The Powder is greeniſh, and ſo common with them, that you ſee in their Batzars whole Bags full thereof ſtanding before their Shops, which come from Aegypt and Africa, from whence whole Ship-loads are ſent through Turky, as I have ſeen my ſelf in this Harbour ſeveral, from whence the Turkiſh Emperor hath yearly a great Revenue. The Arabians burn their Spodium out of the Root thereof, as Avicen remarks in his 17th. Chapter. This being thus, it appeareth that there is no ſmall difference between theſe two, ours and theirs, I am of opinion, that theirs (which is mentioned in the firſt Chapter of Solomon's Song) is liker to that which Dioſcor. deſcribeth, then our Liguſtrum.
Thereabout is alſo found within and without the Gardens a peculiar ſort of Mallows, by them called Chethince, which is very large, and high, and like other Trees, ſpreads its woody Twigs and ſoft Boughs, that are covered with a browniſh Bark; amongſt the reſt I ſaw one as big as a Man's middle, the Leaves thereof are of a dark Green, long, and at the ſides towards the point crenated, its Flowers are rather bigger than other Mallows, of a blew colour, their Seeds I did never ſee. Hard by I found another Outlandiſh Doſchet Flower, which was almoſt decay'd, ſo that it had neither Leaves, Flowers nor Seeds: It was about three Foot high, the Stem and Twigs were hairy, hollow within as other Stalks, of a green colour inclining ſomewhat to yellow, which had at top many other ſhoots, each of them had behind like unto other Tree-ſtems its proper Joint. This is ſo juicy quite through, that it drops almoſt with Milk, which is ſharper than any Spurge. I made great inquiry of them about it, but could have no certain accompt thereof, but as it ſeemed to me, it is very like unto Xabra and Camarronus of Rhazes by the Arabians called Tanaghut and Sabeam, and may be taken according to that Author's deſcription for it.
Further hereabout, chiefly in the Town upon the Ciſterns and Conduits I found Adiantum, by the Apothecaries called Capillus Veneris, and in old Walls the Apollinaris. I alſo found in the Shops in their Batzare two ſorts of Roots, whereof one was rounder, which may be the Bulcigeni of the Venetians, which are called Thraſi at Verona, where they g…w (as the learned Malthiolus teſtifieth) many of theſe are ſent out of Aegypt to Tripoli, and ſold there, chiefly to eat in June, by the Name of Habel, Aſſis and Altzis, this being true, and they being very like both in Name and Quality to the Grains of Altzelem of the Arabians, they muſt be the ſame, although Rhazis reckoneth theſe amongſt the Fruits. The other called by them Hakinrigi, and Hakeuribi is ſomewhat longer, not unlike to our Doronicum, there is alſo a great many of them to be ſold, they are hard, of a ſweetiſh Taſte, with a piercing bitterneſs, and in their bigneſs, and white Nerves (which ſpread themſelves under ground in the Gardens round about like unto the wild Angelica of Tragus) ſo like to the Haronigi Serapionis, and to the Durungi and Durunegi of Avicenna, according to their Deſcription, and ſo uniform, that they muſt be taken for the ſame. Then I found alſo in their Shops abundance of the Seeds of Sumach, whereof they make a red Powder, to excite the Appetite of the Stomach. Theſe and more ſtrange and unknown Simples I did find at Tripolis. But becauſe it would be too tedious to deſcribe them all, therefore I have only made mention of thoſe that Authors have deſcribed.