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¶ The Description.
1 WInter Sauorie is a plant resembling Hyssope, but lower, more tender and brittle: it bringeth forth very many branches, compassed on euery side with narrow and sharpe pointed leaues, longer than those of Time; among which grow the floures from the bottome to the top, out of small husks, of colour white, tending to a light purple. The root is hard and wooddie, as is the rest of the plant.
2 Sommer Sauorie groweth vp with a slender brittle stalke of a foot high, diuided into little branches: the leaues are narrow, lesser than those of Hysope, like the leaues of winter Sauorie, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 thinner set vpon the branches. The floures stand hard to the branches, of a light purple tending to whitenesse. The root is small, full of strings, and perisheth when it hath perfected his seed.
3 This small kinde of Sauorie, which Lobel hath set forth vnder the title of Thym∣bra S. Iuliani, because it groweth 〈◊〉〈◊〉 vpon the rough cliffes of the 〈◊〉〈◊〉 sea in Italie, called Saint Iulians rocke, hath ten∣der twiggie branches an handfull high, of a wooddie substance, set ful of leaues from the bottome to the top, very thicke thrust toge∣ther like vnto those of Time, sauing that they be 〈◊〉〈◊〉 & narrower, bringing forth at the top of the sprigs a round spikie tuft 〈◊〉〈◊〉 small purplish floures. The whole plant is whitish, tending to a bleake colour, and of a verie hot and sharpe taste, and also well smel∣ling.
‡ 4 This in the opinion of Honorius Bellus, Clusius, and Pona, is thought, and not without good reason, to be the true Thymbra, or Satureia of Dioscorides and the Antients, for (besides that it agrees with their description, it is to this day called in Candie 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.) Clusius describes it thus: It sends forth many branches immediately from the roote like as Tyme, and those quadrangular, rough, and of a purplish colour: vpon these growe alternately little roughish leaues much like those of the true Tyme; and out of their bo∣somes come little branches set with the like, but lesser leaues. The toppes of the branches are compassed with a rundle made of manie little leaues, whereout come floures of a fine purple colour, and like the floures of Tyme, beeing diuided into foure parts, whereof the lower is the broader, and hangs downe: The vpper is also broad but shorter, and the other two lesse. Out of the middle of the floure come fiue whitish threds, pointed with browne, and a forked stile. The seed is small and blacke like that of Tyme. The root hard and wooddie. It floured with Clusius (who re∣ceiued the seedes out of Candie from Hono∣rius Bellus) in October and Nouember. ‡