§1.4.1Καὶ πάλιν τῶν φυτῶν τινὰ προάγουσι καρπὸν ἐπάνω τῶν ἰδίων φύλλων, τινὰ δὲ ὑποκάτω τῶν φύλλων.
And again, some of the plants produce fruit above their own leaves, and some below the leaves.
Καὶ τινῶν μὲν ὁ καρπὸς ἀπῃώρηται τοῦ ἰδίου φιτροῦ, τινῶν δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς ῥίζης, ὡς τὰ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ φυτὰ τὰ λεγόμενα μαργαρῖται.
And of some, the fruit is suspended from their own trunk, and of some, from the root, like the plants in Egypt called margarites.
Τινῶν δὲ οἱ καρποὶ ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν.
And of some, the fruits are in their midst.
Καὶ τινῶν οἱ καρποὶ καὶ τὰ φύλλα καὶ οἱ δεσμοὶ ἀδιάκριτοί εἰσι.
And of some, the fruits, the leaves, and the stalks are indistinguishable.
§1.4.2Καὶ τινῶν τὰ φύλλα πρὸς ἄλληλα ὅμοια, ἄλλων δ’ οὔ.
And of some, the leaves are similar to one another, but of others not.
Καὶ τινὰ μὲν ἔχουσι κλάδους ἴσους, τινὰ δὲ οὐ τοιούτους.
And some have equal branches, and some do not have such.
Εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ τὰ μέρη ἅπερ ὠνομάσαμεν ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς δένδροις, αὔξησιν πάσχοντα καὶ πρόσθεσιν, ὡς ἡ ῥίζα, οἱ λύγοι, οἱ φιτροὶ καὶ οἱ κλάδοι· καὶ ταῦτα παρομοιοῦνται μέλεσιν ἀνθρώπων τοῖς περιέχουσι πάντα τὰ ἄλλα μέλη.
And there are also the parts which we named in all trees, undergoing growth and addition, such as the root, the twigs, the trunks, and the branches; and these are likened to the limbs of humans which encompass all the other parts.
§1.4.3Καὶ ἡ μὲν ῥίζα μεσιτεύει ἔν τε τῷ φυτῷ καὶ ἐν τῇ τροφῇ, καὶ καλοῦμεν αὐτὴν οὐ μόνον ῥίζαν ἀλλὰ καὶ αἰτίαν ζωῆς· αὕτη γὰρ ζωὴν τοῖς φυτοῖς προσφέρει.
And the root mediates both in the plant and in the food, and we call it not only a root but also the cause of life; for this brings life to plants.
Καὶ φιτρὸς μέν ἐστιν ὁ μόνος γινόμενος ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἐστὶν ὅμοιος ἡλικίᾳ ἀνθρώπου· παραφυάδες δέ εἰσι τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς ῥίζης τοῦ δένδρου βλαστάνοντα, κλάδοι δέ, οἵτινες αὐξάνουσιν ἐπάνω τῶν παραφυάδων.
And the trunk is that which alone arises from the earth, and is similar to the stature of a human; and suckers are those sprouting from the root of the tree, and branches are those which grow above the suckers.
§1.4.4Οὐχ εύρίσκονται δὲ ταῦτα ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς φυτοῖς.
And these are not found in all plants.
Καὶ πάλιν τῶν κλάδους ἐχόντων τινὰ μέν εἰσι διηνεκῆ, τινὰ δὲ οὐχί, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀπὸ ἔτους μετὰ ἔτος.
And again, of those having branches, some are everlasting, and some are not, but rather from year to year.
Καὶ πάλιν εἰσὶ φυτὰ μὴ ἔχοντα κλάδους μηδὲ φύλλα, ὡς οἱ μύκητες καὶ τὰ ὅμοια.
And again, there are plants that do not have branches or leaves, like mushrooms and the like.
§1.4.5Οἱ κλάδοι δὲ οἱ γεννώμενοι ἐν τοῖς δένδροις καὶ οἱ φλοιοὶ καὶ οἱ φιτροὶ καὶ οἱ μυελοὶ οὐ γεννῶνται εἰ μὴ ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ τοῦ χυμοῦ τῶν δένδρων.
And the branches generated in trees, and the bark, and the trunks, and the pith are not generated except from the juice itself of the trees.
Καί τινες καλοῦσιν αὐτὸν τὸν μυελὸν τὸν ἐν τοῖς δένδροις μήτραν, ἄλλοι σπλάγχνα, ἕτεροι δὲ καρδίαν.
And some call the pith itself in trees the womb, others viscera, and others the heart.
Ταῦτα δὲ καὶ αἱ φλέβες καὶ ἡ σὰρξ ὅλου τοῦ δένδρου ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων στοιχείων πεφύκασι.
And these, as well as the veins and the flesh of the whole tree, are naturally constituted from the four elements.
§1.4.6Καὶ πολλάκις εὑρίσκονται μέρη τινὰ ἐπιτήδεια εἰς τὸ γεννᾶν φύλλα καὶ ἄνθη.
And often there are found certain parts suitable for generating leaves and flowers.
Καὶ λύγοι δέ τινες βραχεῖς εἰσίν, εἰς τὸ γεννᾶν ἐπιτήδειοι ἄνθη, ὡς ἐπὶ τῶν ἰτεῶν.
And indeed some twigs are short, suitable for generating flowers, as in the case of willows.
Τινὲς δὲ καὶ ἄνθη καὶ καρποὺς ἐν τοῖς δένδροις, καὶ τἆλλ’ ὁπόσα γεννῶνται ἐκ σπέρματος, καὶ ὅσα περικαλύπτουσιν αὐτά.
And some indeed bear both flowers and fruits in the trees, and all the other things as many as are generated from seed, and those things which cover them.
§1.4.7Καὶ πάλιν τῶν φυτῶν τινὰ μέν εἰσι δένδρα, τινὰ δὲ μέσον δένδρων καὶ βοτανῶν· καὶ ταῦτα ὀνομάζονται θάμνοι.
And again, of the plants, some indeed are trees, and some are intermediate between trees and herbs; and these are called shrubs.
Καὶ τινὰ μέν εἰσι βοτάναι, τινὰ δὲ λάχανα.
And some indeed are herbs, and some are vegetables.
Σχεδὸν μὲν οὖν πάντα τὰ φυτὰ τοῖς τοιούτοις ὑποπίπτουσιν ὀνόμασι.
So, almost all plants fall under such names.
§1.4.8Πάλιν εἰσὶ δένδρα ἅπερ ἔχουσιν ἐκ τῆς οἰκείας ῥίζης φιτρόν, καὶ γεννῶνται ἐν αὐτοῖς κλάδοι πολλοί, ὡς συκαῖ καὶ ἐλαῖαι· τινὰ δ’ οὔ.
Again, there are trees which have a trunk from their own root, and many branches are generated in them, like figs and olives; but some do not.
Πάλιν εἰσὶν ἄλλα φυτὰ μέσον, ὡς εἴπομεν, δένδρων καὶ βοτανῶν σμικρῶν, τὰ λεγόμενα θάμνοι, ἔχοντα ἐν ταῖς ῥίζαις αὐτῶν πολλοὺς κλάδους, ὡς τὰ καλούμενα ἄγνοι καὶ βάτοι.
Again, there are other plants intermediate, as we said, between trees and small herbs, the so-called shrubs, having many branches in their roots, like the so-called agnoi and batois.