Folio 80r - Of trees, continued.
that when their binding is smeared with it they do not suffer damage from worms and they do not decay with the passage of time.
Again
The cypress is so called in Greek because its head rises from a round base to a point. For this reason it is also called conus, a cone, that is, 'a tall round shape'. On this account, its fruit, too, is called conus, because its round shape is such that it looks like a cone. As a result, the cypress is also called conifer, 'bearing fruit of a conical form'.
The wood of the cypress has a quality close to that of the cedar and is suitable for the roof-beams of temples, because it remains firm and unyielding.
The ancients used to place cypress branches near a funeral pyre, so that the stench of burning corpses would be smothered by their fragrance.
Again
The juniper is so called in Greek, either because its shape tapers from wide to narrow, like fire, or it continues to burn long after it has been kindled, so that if you cover live brands from its ashes, they will last for a year; piro [pur] is the Greek word for fire.
Again
The plane tree gets its name from the width of its leaves or because the tree itself has a wide spread. For the Greek word for 'broad' is platos. The Scripture portrays the name and shape of this tree, saying: 'As a plane tree I spread over the streets' (see Ecclesiasticus, 24:19). Its leaves are very tender and soft like those of the vine.
Again
The oak is called quercus or querimus because it was by means of this tree that heathen gods used to answer queries about the future.
It lives to a great age, as we read in the case of the oak of Mamre, under which Abraham lived, which is said to have lasted for many centuries until the reign of the Emperor Constantine.
The fruit of the oak is called gall.
Again
The ash tree, fraxinus, is said to get its name because its berry tends to grow in harsh and mountainous places; in this way fractinus is derived from fraga, as montanus, mountainous, comes from mons, mountain. Ovid says of it: 'the ash, good for making spears'.
The alder, alnus, is so called because it is nourished by water; for it grows near water and survives with difficulty away from water. For this reason it is a delicate