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 cedar[4] 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[5] 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.