Latin Texts & Translations

Phœnicia, too, produces a small cedar, which bears a strong resemblance to the juniper. ^[Note] Of this tree there are two varieties; the one found in Lycia, the other in Phœnicia. ^[Note] The difference is in the leaf: the one in which it is hard, sharp, and prickly, being known as the oxycedros, ^[Note] 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 cedar ^[Note] 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 Sosianus ^[Note] 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."