The Metaphor as a Scientific Device in the Botanical Description of the Mallow in Fragment 49 of Phainias of Eresus 1

From the few fragments of Phainias of Eresus with botanical content, which are attributed to the work Περὶ φυτω̑ν or Φυτικά and almost all stem from Athenaeus, the result is a limited, incomplete, and distorted picture of the work and its contents. Nevertheless, the little material that we have available to us testifies to an undeniable scientific quality in Phainias’ botanical studies. ² Because of the subject, the 366forms the research takes, and the language used, it is helpful to compare the fragments with the botanical works of Theophrastus, especially since both authors were from Eresus on Lesbos and were joined in friendship. ³ The Historia plantarum of Theophrastus reflects the cultural environment, as influenced by the Peripatetic school, in which Phainias’ botanical fragments can be seen. Fragment 49 rouses attention in particular because of its sophisticated description of botanical phenomena, which is associated with scientific classification. The fragment describes with great accuracy the Common Mallow, the fruit of the Malva sylvestris. ⁴ First, I propose a possible translation of the fragment:

Φαινίας δ᾿ ἐν τοι̑ς Φυτικοι̑ς φησι· ʽτη̑ς ἡμέρου μαλάχης ὁ σπερματικὸς τύπος καλει̑ται πλακου̑ς, ἐμφερὴς ὢν αὐτῷ· τὸ μὲν γὰρ κτενω̑δες ἀνάλογον καθάπερ ἡ του̑ πλακου̑ντος κρηπίς, κατὰ μέσον δὲ του̑ πλακουντικου̑ ὄγκου τὸ κέντρον ὀμφαλικόν. καὶ περιληφθείσης τη̑ς κρηπι̑δος ὅμοιον γίνεται τοι̑ς θαλαττίοις περιγεγραμμένοις ἐχίνοις.’ ⁵

Phainias says in the books On the Plants: “The seed typos of the domesticated mallow is called a ‘cake’ because it is similar to it. Its comb-like structure is analogous to it, ⁶ like ⁷ the base of a cake, and in the middle of the cake-like 367bulge the center is navel-shaped. And if the base is removed, it becomes similar to sea urchins that are striped on their edges.”