The Cornel
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Cornus
The Cornel
Family: Cornaceae
The Cornel
Family: Cornaceae
Viminibus salices
fecundae, frondibus ulmi,
at myrtus validis hastilibus et bona bello
cornus
The willow’s rich in osiers,
the elm in leaves: the myrtle
and the cornel, good for war
Georgics II,
446-448at myrtus validis hastilibus et bona bello
cornus
The willow’s rich in osiers,
the elm in leaves: the myrtle
and the cornel, good for war
In this passage of the
Georgics, Virgil talks about the cornelian tree, which can be found in the
Aeneid too. The latin word cornus (horn) refers to the tree’s strong and
bright wood, that reminds of an ox’s horn.
By this features of rigidity and resistance, the cornelian’s wood was
used for the building of javelins and beams: indeed Virgil use the same word to
define both the tree and the arm. Its fruits were known and appreciate by the
ancients too who ate them flavoured with honey.
