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Aristotle · On Plants §2.9.9-2.9.16

Absence of Flowers, Solidification of Sap, and Color Changes

Passage 26 of 27 · Greek

Summary

The text discusses the physical reasons why some plants lack flowers, the growth of thick-barked plants, the mechanisms behind the formation and solidification of milk, gum, and stone-like substances, and concludes with an explanation of plant color changes in winter.

§2.9.9Ὅταν δὲ εἰς εὐκρασίαν φθάσῃ, ἐστὶ γλαυκόν.
And when it reaches a temperate state, it is bluish-grey.
Διότι δέ τινα φυτὰ ἄνθη οὐκ ἔχουσιν, ἔστιν ἡ αἰτία ὅτι ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πλεῖστον γίνεται τοῦτο διὰ τὴν διαφορὰν τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς μερῶν καὶ τὴν ἐν αὐτοῖς λεπτότητα καὶ τραχύτητα καὶ παχύτητα.
And the cause why some plants do not have flowers is that, for the most part, this occurs because of the difference of the parts in them and the thinness, roughness, and thickness in them.
§2.9.10Οὐκ ἔχουσι δὲ ἄνθη φοίνικες, συκαῖ καὶ τὰ τούτοις ὅμοια.
And palms, figs, and things similar to these do not have flowers.
Τὸ δὲ φυτὸν τὸ παχεῖς ἔχον φλοιοὺς ἐκτείνεται κατὰ τὴν ἔκτασιν τῆς ὑγρότητος καὶ τὴν συνώθησιν τῆς θερμότητος.
And the plant having thick bark is stretched according to the extension of the moisture and the compression of the heat.
Καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν ἐν τῇ πεύκῃ καὶ τῷ φοίνικι.
And this is in the pine and the palm.
§2.9.11Τὸ δὲ φυτὸν τὸ γάλα ἐκβάλλον ἔχει τοῦτο ἐν τῷ μέσῳ.
And the plant that expels milk has this in its middle.
Ἔστι δὲ ἡ θερμότης ὑποκάτω ἰσχυροτέρα, καὶ μένει ἐκεῖ πιότης, Ὁπόταν οὖν ἄρξηται ἡ θερμότης πέττειν, στρέφεται ἡ πιότης εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν ὑγρότητα, καὶ συμπήγνυσι ταύτην συμπήξει βραχείᾳ.
And the heat is stronger below, and the fatness remains there. Therefore, whenever the heat begins to concoct, the fatness turns into its own moisture, and solidifies it with a slight solidification.
§2.9.12Καὶ θερμαινομένου τοῦ τόπου γίνεται ἡ ὑγρότης λιπαρά, ὁμοία γάλακτι, ἐγείρεταί τε ἀναθυμίασις ἀπὸ τῆς ὑγρότητος τῆς ἑλκούσης τὸ γάλα ἐκεῖνο εἰς τὰς ἀκρότητας, καὶ κατέχει ἡ ὑγρότης τὴν θερμότητα τὴν φαινομένην, καὶ οὕτω συμπήγνυται τὸ γάλα· φύσις γάρ ἐστι τῆς θερμότητος τὸ συμπηγνύειν.
And as the place is heated, the moisture becomes oily, similar to milk, and a vapor rises from the moisture that draws that milk to the extremities, and the moisture holds the appearing heat, and thus the milk solidifies; for it is the nature of heat to solidify.
§2.9.13Ὁποῖον δή τι δὲ γάλα πολῆς ἐστὶ συμπήξεως, τότε γίνεται, ὅταν ἐν τῷ δένδρῳ φανῇ ψῦχος· συμπηγνύμενον γὰρ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐξέρχεται ἀπὸ τοῦ οἰκείου τόπου.
Now, whatever milk is of much solidification, it then occurs when coldness appears in the tree; for having solidified, it after these things comes out from its own place.
Καὶ ἐντεῦθέν ἐστι τὸ κόμι.
And from this is gum.
Τὸ κόμι δὲ τὸ θερμὸν προέρχεται ἐν τῷ στάζεσθαι· ὁπόταν γοῦν τοῦ ἀέρος ἅψηται, συμπήγνυται καὶ καταρρεῖ ἐν τόπῳ εὐκράτῳ, καὶ ἔστιν ὅμοιον ὕδατι,
And hot gum comes forth in dripping; at any rate, when it touches the air, it solidifies and flows down in a temperate place, and is similar to water.
§2.9.14Ἕτερον δὲ χέεται καὶ συμπήγνυται ὅμοιον λίθοις ἡ κογχυλίοις.
But another flows out and solidifies like stones or shells.
Ὅτε δὲ κατὰ στράγγα ῥεῖ, μένον ἐν τῷ οἰκείῳ εἴδει γίνεται ὡς τὸ λεγόμενον σμηρίον.
And when it flows in drops, remaining in its own form, it becomes like the so-called emery.
Τὸ δὲ ἀλλοιούμενον ὡς λίθος ἐστὶ κατὰ τὸ φαινόμενον λίαν ψυχρόν.
And that which changes like stone is, to all appearance, very cold.
Ποιεῖ δὲ τοῦτο ἡ θερμότης τοιοῦτον εἶναι· ὅταν δὲ ψῦχος καὶ καταρρῇ, ἀπολιθοῦται.
But the heat makes it to be such; and when there is coldness and it flows down, it becomes petrified.
§2.9.15Πάλιν τῶν δένδρων τινὰ ἀλλοιοῦνται ἐν τῷ χειμῶνι, καὶ ποτὲ μὲν γίνονται χλοερὰ ποτὲ δὲ γλαυκά, καὶ οὐ φθείρονται οὔτε τὰ φύλλα αὐτῶν οὔτε οἱ καρποί, ὅτι τὰ φυτὰ ἐν οἶς τοῦτο συμβαίνει ἔχουσιν ἐπάνω θερμότητα παχεῖαν καὶ ἐν ταῖς ῥίζαις ὑγρότητα λεπτήν· ὅθεν ἐν τῇ προόδῳ τοῦ ἔτους κατέχει ἡ ὑγρότης ἐκεῖνο τὸ χρῶμα διὰ τὴν ψυχρότητα τοῦ ἀέρος.
Again, some of the trees change in winter, and sometimes they become green and sometimes bluish-grey, and neither their leaves nor their fruits are destroyed, because the plants in which this happens have thick heat above and thin moisture in the roots; whence in the course of the year, the moisture holds that color because of the coldness of the air.
§2.9.16Καὶ ὅτε παραβάλλει ἡ θερμότης πρὸς τὴν ψυχρότητα, ὠθεῖ ἡ θερμότης τὴν ὑγρότητα ἔξωθεν, μετὰ τοῦ οὖπερ ἔβαψε χρώματος τοῦ ἐν τῇ ἐπιφανείᾳ τοῦ δένδρου ἀκολουθοῦντος.
And when the heat confronts the coldness, the heat pushes the moisture outward, with the color that it dyed following, which is on the surface of the tree.
Ὅτε δὲ στρέφεται πάλιν ἡ ψυχρότης καὶ ἡ ξηρότης εἰς ἐνέργειαν, καὶ ἡ ὑγρότης κατέχει τὴν θερμότητα, τότε τὸ χρῶμα φαίνεται τὸ γλαυκόν.
But when the coldness and dryness return again into activity, and the moisture holds the heat, then the bluish-grey color appears.

Notes

  1. §2.9.9τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς μερῶν — The pronoun αὐτοῖς refers to the plants. The prepositional phrase ἐν αὐτοῖς (in them) modifies the noun μερῶν, and also functions similarly with the following abstract nouns like λεπτότητα.
  2. §2.9.12τῆς ἑλκούσης — A present active participle in the feminine genitive singular, attributively modifying the preceding noun τῆς ὑγρότητος. It shows that the moisture itself plays an active role in drawing the milk to the extremities.
  3. §2.9.13πολῆς ἐστὶ συμπήξεως — πολῆς is a variant spelling of πολλῆς (much/strong) found in the manuscripts. The genitive noun phrase πολλῆς συμπήξεως (genitive of quality) is used as a complement to the copula ἐστί, indicating a milk characterized by a high degree of solidification.
  4. §2.9.14ὅταν δὲ ψῦχος καὶ καταρρῇ — The neuter noun ψῦχος is placed in the nominative. It is either an elliptical construction for 'when there is coldness' (with a subjunctive like ᾖ omitted) or ψῦχος itself is understood as the subject of the verb καταρρῇ.

Cite this passage

Aristotle, On Plants §2.9.9-2.9.16. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg039.humanitext-grc1:2.9.9-2.9.16

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