A root and a leaf, however, are the productions which are held in the very highest estimation in India. The root is that of the costus;[493] it has a burning taste in the mouth, and a most exquisite odour; in other respects, the branches are good for nothing. In the island of Patale,[494] situate at the very mouth of the river Indus, there are two kinds of costus found, the black and the white; the last is considered the best. The price of it is five denarii per pound.
CHAP. 26.—NARD. THE TWELVE VARIETIES OF THE PLANT.
Of the leaf, which is that of the nard,[495] it is only right to speak somewhat more at length, as it holds the principal place among our unguents. The nard is a shrub with a heavy, thick root, but short, black, brittle, and yet unctuous as well; it has a musty smell, too, very much like that of the cyperus, with a sharp, acrid taste, the leaves being small, and growing in tufts. The heads of the nard spread out into ears; hence it is that nard is so famous for its two-fold production, the spike or ear, and the leaf. There is another kind, again, that grows on the banks of the Ganges, but is altogether condemned, as being good for nothing; it bears the name of ozænitis,[496] and emits a fetid odour. Nard is adulterated with a sort of plant called pseudo-nard,[497] which is found growing everywhere, and is known by its thick, broad leaf, and its sickly colour, which inclines to white. It is sophisticated, also, by being mixed with the root of the genuine nard, which adds very considerably to its weight. Gum is also used for the same purpose, antimony, and cyperus; or, at least, the outer coat of the cyperus. Its genuineness is tested by its lightness, the redness of its colour, its sweet smell, and the taste more particularly, which parches the mouth, and leaves a pleasant flavour behind it; the price of spikenard is one hundred denarii per pound.
Leaf[498] nard varies in price according to the size; for that which is known by the name of hadrosphærum, consisting of the larger leaves, sells at forty denarii per pound; when the leaves are smaller, it is called mesosphærum, and is sold at sixty. But that which is considered the most valuable of all, is known as microsphærum, and consists of the very smallest of the leaves; it sells at seventy-five denarii per pound. All these varieties of nard have an agreeable odour, but it is most powerful when fresh. If the nard is old when gathered, that which is of a black colour is considered the best.
In our part of the world, the Syrian[499] nard is held in the next highest esteem next to this; then the Gallic;[500] and in the third place, that of Crete,[501] which by some persons is called “agrion,” and by others “phu.” This last has exactly the leaf of the olusatrum,[502] with a stalk a cubit in length, knotted, of a whitish colour, inclining to purple, and a root that runs sideways; it is covered, too, with long hair, and strongly resembles the foot of a bird. Field nard is known by the name of baccar.[503] We shall have further occasion to mention it when we come to speak of the flowers. All these kinds of nard, however, are to be reckoned as herbs, with the exception of Indian nard. Of these, the Gallic kind is pulled up along with the root, and washed in wine; after which it is dried in the shade, and wrapped up in paper, in small parcels. It is not very different from the Indian nard, but is lighter than that of Syria; the price at which it sells is three denarii per pound. The only way of testing the leaves of all these varieties of nard, is to see that they are not brittle and parched, instead of being dried naturally and gradually. Together with the nard that grows in Gaul, there always[504] springs up a herb, which is known by the name of hirculus, or the “little goat,” on account of its offensive smell, it being very similar to that of the goat. This herb, too, is very much used in the adulteration of nard, though it differs from it in the fact that it has no stem, and its leaves are smaller; the root, too, is not bitter, and is entirely destitute of smell.
CHAP. 27. (13.)—ASARUM, OR FOAL-FOOT.
The herb asarum,[505] too, has the properties of nard, and, indeed, by some persons is known as wild nard. It has a leaf, however, more like that of the ivy, only that it is rounder and softer. The flower is purple, the root very similar to that of the Gallic nard, and the seed is like a grape. It is of a warm and vinous flavour, and blossoms twice a year, growing upon hill sides that are densely shaded. The best kind is that found in Pontus, and the next best that of Phrygia; that of Illyricum being only of third-rate quality. The root is dug up when it is just beginning to put forth its leaves, and then dried in the sun. It very soon turns mouldy, and loses its properties. There has, also, been lately found a certain herb in some parts of Greece, the leaves of which do not differ in the slightest degree from those of the Indian nard.
CHAP. 28.—AMOMUM.—AMOMIS.
The clustered amomum[506] is very extensively used; it grows upon a kind of wild vine that is found in India, though some persons have been of opinion that it is borne by a shrub, resembling the myrtle in appearance, and about the same height as the palm. This plant, also, is plucked along with the root, and is carefully pressed together with the hands; for it very soon becomes brittle. That kind is held in the highest esteem, the leaves of which bear a strong resemblance to those of the pomegranate, being free from wrinkles, and of a red colour. The second quality is that which is of a pallid hue. That which has a green, grassy appearance, is not so good, and the white is the worst of all; it assumes this appearance when old. The price of clustered amomum is sixty denarii per pound, but in dust it sells at only forty-nine. Amomum is produced, also, in that part of Armenia which is known as Otene; as, also, in Media and Pontus. It is adulterated with the leaves of the pomegranate and a solution of gum, which is employed in order to make the leaves adhere and form clusters, like those of the grape.
There is another substance, also, which is known by the name of amomis;[507] it is not so full of veins as amomum, harder, and not so odoriferous; from which it would appear, either that it is altogether a different plant, or else that it is amomum gathered in an unripe state.