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Show Cx ar.89. 5 Theatrum Botantcum, Tripey6, Cuar. LX XXIX. Balfamum genuinnm antiqnorum, The true Balmeor Balfame tree oftheancients.” © deliver unto youthis Balfame tree as I fhould, andasit ought ahd. ‘deferveth, 1 fomewhat, doubt of myability, for who isfitfor fo rare, {0 excellenra fubjed, being heretofore: accounted asoneof the ay grearelt jewels.and richelt endowments of the earth, »andoas a parcell of the treafure of great Kings, and Princes,and itis thought by many that che gpeareftand worthyeft prefent that'the QueeneofSheba did or could bring and give unto King Salomon, was fome Balfametteesy which fhe brought out.of her, Country, ‘ that Salomon might plant themin his: and it was alfo ane ofthe greatelt Tewels the firft Ptefomoy could bring awayfrom thence into Egypt, as Au:hours docrecord it: burnowthe times are fo changed, thatJ thinke.I Balfamum genninum antiquorcm, The ting Balme.or Balfamuya tree of the ancients, Trise 16, ter then my City, and {© itrunne ont at them, -let me ume or Balme tree,never groweth terygreat, t in the naturall places, being iuffered to growas it will, butuntofive or fixe cubits high or thereabouts, andin others mach lower, with divers.fajal and {traighe flender branches iffuing from thence, ofa brownith red. r, efpecially the younger twigs, covered. witha they wrote of athing that wasnot, orthat wasnot feene and knowne unto them, at the leaf the defcription’ are fo lame and feeme fo to vary one from another, yet if they be warily and wifely confidered, they may bs brouglatin fome fort to agree thereunto, bur for me co argue muchinthis matter, and the particulars would He: quirea great deale oftime and roome, which cannot be {pared here, I muftreferre them to Alpinia and Belloni. us, that would be further fatisfied herein, who have more largely entreated of this fubjc&. TheVertues, ry like it in quality, but farre inferiour thereunto in the {ubriliry: The Iiquour or Opobalfamum.,is of oreat good nfe again{t all poyfons and infections, both Vipers, Serpents and Scorpions, the peftilence and {potted fevers and fluxe alfo of the whites and che topping ofurine: it clenfeth alfo the reines and kidneyes, and freeth them fiom the generationof ftonesin them, and expelleth the gravell or {tones inthem itisfingu'ar good asainft the palfic, crampe, tremblings,convulfions or fhrinking of finewes,and for greene wotinds, the moft {peedy operatour of any : from the fingular effect whercofall other medicinesmade for the health of the body or to heale wounds were called Balfamum, Balme. The women in Egypt, herewith as A/pinus fheweth, preferve their beauty, and young forme for along time, the berryes are efpeciall good againft poyfons and infeétions, the falling fickneffe the {wimmings and paines inthe head, the cough, and difeafes of the lungs, the windy painesandftiches in ane fides, the reftraine of urine,and the rifing of the mother and other difeafes thereof to fic ina bathe made of them : the wood worketh the fame effects bur ina farre weaker manner. Cuape Styrax arbor, ; XC. The {weeté Storaxtree, Efides the Storax tree,that hath ufually been knowne and defcribed by allmoft all Writers of Herbs; and which I am nowabout to fhewyou, Bashinus from Honorius Bellus in Candy, hath exhibited another foft, whereof he is fo briefe, that little more canbe afflured thereof by his relation, then the name,and the confidence of his judgement from whomhehadit, thatit may bereferred here- pet berryes, fimall at both ends, crefted on thefides and verylike untothe berryes of the Turpinuie tree, of a very fharpe fent, having a yellow hony like fubltance in them fomewhat bitter, but aromaticall in tafte, and biting on the tongue like the Opola!/amum: From the body hereof being wounded, commeth fortha liquour (and fomerimesa little of it felfe without {carifying)_ of a troubled whitifh colour at the firft, which after fome {mall rime growethcleare, being fomewhac thicker thenoyle in Sammer,of fo-(harpe a piercing fent, that it will pierce the noftrils of them that {mel thereunto,like unto oyle of {pike almoft, butas it groweth inage, fo it decayeth both in the thinneffe of the {ubftance growing thicker, and inthe fmell nothing fo quicke,andin the colour becomming yellowlike hony,or browne thicke Turpintine, as it groweth older, v Arabiafelix about Mecha,and Medin t,anda {mall village neere them called Bedrunia, with thehils, vallies, and {andy groundsabout them, andthe Country ofthe Sabeansnextit, are thought by.many.to-be, theonely natorall places, where this cree hath beene ever knowne in theft or the former dayes to grow, and from thence hath Iudea and Egypt ever beene furnifhed,whatioeverhath growne therein as Alpinus relateth ; but.t is fome- whatprobable to me,thatthe hils of Gileaddid nourifhthis tree long before the Queene of Sheba brought any as itisthought to Salomon, in chat the L/omatires chat bought Iofeph of his Brethren, asit is fecdowne Gen, 37. 24. arefaid to carry from Gilead, Balme &c, downe to Egipt, and Ger43v4r. Pacob willeth his Sonnes to car- ryto lofeph in Egipt, fome of the belt fruites of the Land, (c. Roffin &c., which Itake ta be underftood this Balme, orelfe Roffin fimply might be thought too fimple aprefent for Iofeph, and not one of the belt fruites of the Country : but I doubt of rhe truthof that tale thar the Queene of Sheba did firft bring the Balfametrees to yon, and that he planted themin thevalley by Jericho,but rather that they were fetched from the hils of Gé- Jeremy the Prophet dothalfo often men- e yearely pruined boch by the Iewes and Arabians, to have the greater {tore of liquor. tfowreth in the Spring with the Turpintine tree,and fruGtifyeth with it in the Autumne, The Names, al This Balfame tree faith Galen,ishot and dry in the fecond degree, fo thaticis (weete in {mel parts; but the liquor or Opobal/amum, is of morethinne parts then the plancit felfe: the fruite being of thinne or berryes is ve greene colour, fmelling and tafting fomewhatlike the , and planted by him therein Orchards, the betterto be rended. 1529 into the eyes or eares, it helpeth the cough fhortneffe of breath, and confumptionof the lungs,by warming and double barke, the red out.rmoft, and agreene one un- The Place and Time, Cuap,go, drying upthe diftillations of rheumeuponthem, andall other difeafes of the ftomacke proceeding of coldor winde,the cold or windy diftempers alfo of the bowells,wombe or mother, procuring torments and paines, or the cold moiftures procuring barrennefle, procureth the courfes, delivereth the dead birth and after birth : the derit, which are of a very fragrant fmell, and of an aromatical! quicke tafte, {ome what aftringent andgummy, cleaving tothe fingers, the wood under the barke white, and as infipide as“anyother wood; on thefe branches come forth {parfedly and without order fundryftalkes of winged leaves, fomewhat like unto thofe ofthe Mafticke tree, confifting fome but of three leaves which are thofe thar firft come forth and the loweft, others of five or feven leaves, and feldomeaove, whichare fet by couples,the lowelt {mallelt,and the nextlarger, andthe end one largeft of all, of a pale barke of the branches; alittle clammyalfo, and abie bufhes Winter as well as Summer: The many and {mall, ftanding by three together on {mali ftalkes, atthe ends of the branches made of fix {mall white leaves apecce, which are fucceeded by {mall brownith hard berries, little bigger: then Iuni- The Theater of Plants, liquour they call s10Geéacuwar Opobalfamum, or be rskv Balfameleon, and the berryes or fruite ofthe tree zapookdraz pw Carpobalfamum,and raut.ov Calfamum, and the {prigs or young branchesthereof £:n02éacaucy Xy. lobalfamum. Divers of the auncieat Writers have made mention of this tree,but fo diverfly that many doditake all other putride andintermiffive agues that rife from obitractions, and crude cold hamours, to take a lcraple‘cr two in fome drinke for fone dayes together, and to {weate thereon, for this openeth the obftructions of theliver and fpleene,and digeftech thofé raw humours in them, cherifhing the vitall {pirits,radicall r ifture, and hatiivall heace inthemandts very effectuall in all cold griefes and difeafes of the head or ftomacke,helpir e the iwithmniaes and turnings of che braine, weake memories, and thefalling ficknefle: it cleareth the eyes of filmes or skinnes; overgrowing the fighr, and eafeth the paine in the cares, and their deafeneffe and other difeafes, to be dropped fhall {earce gaine credit,that the fame true Bal/amum is extant in rer#m natura > but leat my gates’ growgreas OEUe 152 8 From the Arabians whocall it Balefan,have the Greekes calledit Barrduov, and the Latines Balfamum: the liquour unto, A third fortis the Storaxrubra, whereof we have leffe knowledgethen of the laft. 1, Styrax arbor vulgaris, The ufuall Storax tree. This Storax tree groweth verylike unto the Quince tree, bothfor forme and bigneffe, the léaves alfo are long and round, and fomewhat like but farrelefle, whitith underneathand ftiffe. The flowers {tand both at the joynts withthe leaves, and at the ends of the branches, confilting offive orfixe large whitithleaves, like unto thofe of the Orrenge tree, with fomethreds inthe middle, after which come round berries, {et in the cupsthat the flowers ftoodin before, ofthe bigneffe of Hafell nuts, pointed at the ends,and hoary all over,each ftanding on along focteftalke, containing within themcertaine kernels in finall fhells: this yeeldeth a moft fiagtant fweete gums and cleare,of the colour of browne hony, if we might have it fincere without mixture, which yet wee in {malt dropshave had. 2, Styraxfolio Aceris. AStorax with Maple leaves. From around blackifh ruggedroote covered withacrefted,or asit were joynted barke come forth ont of knorg three or five broad leaves like untothofe ofthe Maple or Plane tree, ftanding on fmallblackifh long flalkes, and are divided in threeor five parts, full of veines dented about the edges, and pointed at the ends, 3. Storax rubra. Red Storax. This thing that formerly was called Storax rubra, wasabarke of fomékind oftree, and thought to be the Nafeaphthura,or Nafcaphtum of Dinfcorides, but Cordus on Diofcorides {canning the matter fomewhat more feri- oufly dererminethit to be a thing utterly anknowne to him in his time, and by the cheapeneffe of thar barke that went under that name, faith plainely ic was too cheape toberight, ‘Diofcorides making Nafcaphthum, tobe like the barke ofthe Sycomoretree, as fome coppies have it,or che Mulberry tree as others and brought fromJndia, being of afweete or pleafant {ent in fumigations as well byit felfe as mixe with other perfumes: bat AZatthiols taketh Nafcaphthum,to be that which was called Tignamein thops, whichashe faith the Jtalianscalled Agallocho, that is Lignum Alees, and {o Cordws alfo faith, that one /ohannes Rodericus a Portugal! tooke the Nafcapbthumto be that whichin their fhops wascalled Palo daguilla LignumAqnile that is the fame with Lignand Aloes,as aforefaid but Cordus mifliketh that opinion,the Lignum Aloes being a wood and the Na(caphthum a barkes yet although this long difcourfe be fomewhat from the matter in hand, yer {ceing ic fell fofitly te fpeake of Na= fcaphthum, 1 could not doe otherwife then fhew you what others have thought thereof, in thar as | {aid divers tooke it to be Storax rubra, whenas noauncieat Authour mentioneth it: butboth Serapioand Avicen divide Styrax into liquida and ficca, byliquids underltanding the pure gumme flowing from the tre¢,and not chat yar which |