Chap. 10 (5.) — The Trees of Syria: The Pistacia, the Cottana, the Damascena, and the Myxa
In addition to the palm, Syria has several trees that are peculiar to itself. Among the nut-trees there is the pistacia,822 well known among us. It is said that, taken either in food or drink, the kernel of this nut is a specific against the bite of serpents. Among figs, too, there are those known as “caricæ,”823 together with some smaller ones of a similar kind, the name of which is “cottana.” There is a plum, too, which grows upon Mount Damascus,824 as also that known as the “myxa;”825 these last two are, however, now naturalized in Italy. In Egypt, too, they make a kind of wine from the myxa.