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Theophrastus · Fragments §168.1

Rootless Plants and Mushrooms Petrified by the Sun

Passage 173 of 196 · Greek

Summary

Quoting Theophrastus's Inquiry into Plants, the text describes the structural characteristics of rootless underground/aboveground plants (pezies) and mushrooms, and mentions mushrooms near the Pillars of Hercules that grow after rain and are petrified by the sun.

§168.1Fr. 168 Θ. δὲ ἐν τῷ περὶ φυτῶν ἱστορίας γράφει· ὑπόγεια δὲ τὰ τοιαῦτά ἐστι καὶ ἐπίγεια, καθάπερ οὓς καλοῦσί τινες πέζιας ἅμα τοῖς μύκησι γινομένους· ἄρριζοι γὰρ καὶ αὐτοὶ τυγχάνουσιν·
And Theophrastus writes in his Inquiry into Plants: and such things are both underground and aboveground, just like those which some call pezies, which grow at the same time as mushrooms; for they themselves also happen to be rootless.
ὁ δὲ μύκης ἔχει προσφύσεως ἀρχὴν τὸν καυλὸν εἰς μῆκος καὶ ἀποτείνουσιν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ ῥιψί.
On the other hand, the mushroom has its stalk as the starting point of its attachment, extending in length, and they stretch out mat-like fibers from it.
Φησὶ δὲ καὶ ὅτι ἐν τῇ περὶ τὰς Ἡρακλέους στήλας θαλάσσῃ ὅταν πλείω ὕδατα γένηται, μύκητες φύονται πρὸς τῇ θαλάσσῃ οὓς καὶ ἀπολιθοῦσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου φησί.
And he also says that in the sea around the Pillars of Hercules, when more rains occur, mushrooms grow near the sea, which he says are also turned into stone by the sun.

Notes

  1. §168.1ἀποτείνουσιν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ ῥιψί — The subject of the third-person plural verb ἀποτείνουσιν is either the preceding singular noun ὁ μύκης treated collectively, or an implied subject representing parts of the mushroom (such as fibers). ῥιψί is the dative plural of ῥίψ (wicker-work, matting), expressing means or manner. While the corresponding passage in Historia Plantarum 1.1.11 reads ἀποτείνουσαν... καὶ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ῥίζας (extending... and roots from it), suggesting textual variation or corruption in this quotation, the dative ῥιψί is interpreted here as referring to mat-like fibers.
  2. §168.1οὓς καὶ ἀπολιθοῦσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου φησί — The relative pronoun οὓς (referring to μύκητες) acts as the subject accusative of the infinitive ἀπολιθοῦσθαι (present passive), forming an accusative-and-infinitive construction (indirect discourse) governed by φησί. The content of the relative clause is thus presented as part of the reported statement.

Cite this passage

Theophrastus, Fragments §168.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0093.tlg010x09.humanitext-grc1:168.1

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