Enquiry into Plants, Vol. 2

leaf, similar in a way to that of the olive, while the black is like the tamarisk, and fleshy. The white grows more on the ground; it is scented, while the black is scentless. Both possess a large root extending deep into the ground, and many thick, woody branches which split from the ground itself or a little way above it—it is indeed very woody. It is also very viscous, for which reason they use it for binding and for wrapping, just as with the withy. It sprouts and flowers after the autumnal equinox and remains in flower for a long time.

3

As for marjoram, the black is barren, while the white bears fruit. And as for thyme, there is a white and a black, and it is very free-flowering; for it blooms about the summer solstice. From this the bee takes its honey, and by this, the beekeepers say, it is evident whether they have a good yield of honey or not; for when it has flowered well, there is a good yield of honey. Rain, however, harms and destroys the flowering.

Savory, and still more marjoram, has a conspicuous fruitful seed, but in the case of thyme, one cannot find it; rather, it is somehow mixed into the flower; for they sow this, and it sprouts.

4

Those at Athens who wish to export the genus seek and obtain it. It possesses a peculiarity with respect to these, and almost all other plants, regarding the regions it inhabits; for they say it cannot grow and...