Book 9
8
But Theophrastus says that there are two kinds of turnips, the male and the female, and that they both come from the same seed; but Posidonius the Stoic philosopher, in the twenty-seventh book of his Histories, concerning Dalmatia, says that there are some turnips which grow without any cultivation, and also some carrots that grow wild. But Diphilus the physician, of Siphnos, says—The turnip has attenuating properties, and is harsh and indigestible, and moreover is apt to cause flatulence: but the vegetable called bounias is superior to that; for it is sweeter in taste and more digestible, in addition to being wholesome for the sto- mach and nutritious. But the turnip, he says, when roasted, is more easily digested, but in this state it attenuates the blood still more. This vegetable is mentioned by Eubulus, in his Ancylion, where he says— I bring this turnip to be roasted now. And Alexis, in his Enthusiast, says— I speak to Ptolemy, roasting slices of turnip. But the turnip, when pickled, is more attenuating in its effects than when boiled, especially when it is pickled with mustard, as Diphilus says.
