690 Ulysses Aldrovandi

In addition, a certain plant known to Mattioli as *Medium* or the Marian Violet is cultivated in flower gardens for its abundance of blossoms and its beauty. It grows wild in wooded areas, possessing leaves similar to endive, a tall stem, and large flowers that mimic the shape of a bell. For this reason, Bauhin, in his *Phytopinax*, classified this plant among those called *Campanula* because of the shape of the flower, though it is commonly referred to by herbalists as a type of wild turnip. Consequently, the mountain-dwelling peasants in the territory of Bologna call it wild rampion, and Gesner named it the greatest kind of wild turnip.

XI. A few years ago, a specimen of this plant grew with a broad stem in the public garden, as can be observed in illustration XI.

We observed an even more remarkable and admirable monster in the Alkanet (*Anchusa*). It is called *ἄγχουσα* (anchousa) from the word *ἄγχειν* (anchein, "to choke"), because it possesses the power to suffocate—though others believe it is so named for the deep red color of its root, since among the Greeks *ἄγχουζα* means to smear with dye. Dioscorides records three species of this plant, Pliny four, and Bauhin, in his *Phytopinax*, lists five, varying in their leaves and flowers. It generally produces rough leaves like those of Bugloss, purplish flowers scattered along the stem, and a root saturated with a blood-red color.

XII. This Alkanet, which is the second species in Mattioli’s work, occasionally produces an extremely thick stem with a great quantity of leaves and purplish flowers at the top, folded together and arranged in a circle so that it takes on the shape of a fan. This is apparent in illustration XII, where the reader can see both the genuine, natural Alkanet plant and the monstrous one, so that the perfect and imperfect works of Nature may be revealed in plants as well.

XIII. To these we add another elegantly monstrous Alkanet stem observed at another time; it was slanted and broad, its summit adorned with small purplish flowers, as seen in illustration XIII under number 1. In the same illustration, under number 2, a monstrous leaf of the *Moly* is shown, where Nature has produced a round fruit at its very tip.

*Moly*, or *μῶλυ*, is an herb so named by the Greeks from *μωλύειν τὰς νόσους* (molyuein tas nosous), which is to say, from "warding off diseases." For this reason, it is numbered among the amulets. Dioscorides knew of only one *Moly*, whereas our age recognizes several species; indeed, four varieties are listed in the *Phytopinax*. Among these, it was the "Great Moly" of Bauhin (or the "Homeric Moly" of Lobelius) and the "Bulb-bearing Moly" of Theophrastus that produced this monstrous leaf.

This *Moly* produces leaves similar to those of the squill, though longer and embracing one another. It has a very long, thick, hollow stem without leaves, supporting many star-shaped flowers on long stalks, with black seeds like those of onions. It has a thick, white, round root covered in a black skin, which Theophrastus denies is difficult to dig up, despite what Homer asserted.

Furthermore, near the stem of this plant, another flat little stalk often emerges from between the leaves, the tip of which bears a bulb like that of garlic; when committed to the earth, this germinates and propagates the offspring of the plant. We believe this monstrous leaf was created because the small stalk, due to an abundance of nutrients, degenerated into a leaf whose summit Nature then adorned with this kind of bulb or round fruit.

As a finishing touch to these monstrous plant stems, we wish to add the most beautiful and admirable stem, extraordinarily wide and contrary to nature, of the *Lycopsis* (Wild Bugloss), which does not differ much from the nature of the Alkanet.

XIV. When Dioscorides discusses the *Lycopsis*, he declares that it was called *Anchusa* by some, and not without reason, since it too is filled with the same florid root color as the Alkanet. This monster appears in illustration XIV.

Nor should we exclude from this class of monsters a certain branch of the Smoke Tree (*Cotinus*) that was flat at the top and twisted like a bishop’s crozier. This specimen is preserved, dried and sketched, in the public Museum, but since it has not yet been engraved, we cannot provide its image for inspection here.

Thus far we have discussed the monstrous stems and branches of plants; now it is time to turn our attention to the monstrous flowers that Nature produces in various types of plants—