Recoma
Recoma Plinius affertur inquit ex his que supra pontum sunt regionibus, radix costo nigro similis minor et ruffior paulo sine odore calefaciens gustum et astringens eadem trita vini colorem reddit ac ad crocum inclinantem est reu et infra.
Apparatus:
In B this entry is not rubricated but is printed with other lemmata in a continuous column beginning with Rehan.
Rechoma jp Pliny | Recoma e | Recõa B | Rechonia AC {‘m’ misread as ‘ni’} | Rethoma {a second hand marks the last down stroke of’ ‘m falsely as ‘i’ > Reconia}
affertur | afert~ B | afficitur ms. e | aufert~ j
inquit | ĩquid j | infra f
ex hiis | ex his AC
supra om. f
pontum | punctum ejp
ruffior | rufior B
paulo om. B
calefaciens | calefatiens j
eadem | eade j
trita | circa f
colorem reddit (redit B) ABC ejp | r. c. ms. f
ac ad ABC | ad ms. e | et ad f
inclinantem | declinãtẽ B | similanteʒ ms. e
est (e AC) reu (ren B) et (ut B; etc. j) infra (infra om. j) ABC efjp
Translation:
Pliny says that Recoma is brought from the regions beyond the Pontus. Its root is similar to dark costus, only smaller and a bit redder, without any odour, with a hot taste and astringency. When this herb is pounded it takes on the colour of wine and it inclines toward crocus {"saffron"}. It is reu, see entries below.
Commentary:
Simon's entry is a near verbatim excerpt from Pliny, Natural History, 27,105,128, ed. W.H.S. Jones (1938-63: VII.468). The word rhecoma is only documented in Pliny.
Botanical identification:
Simon himself adds to Pliny's text, that it is reu, a form of Rheum, i.e. a rhubarb species. André (1956: 272), equates rhēcoma with rha Ponticum, which is botanically Rheum rhaponticum L. [[1]], whose rhizome was used medicinally as a laxative. Simon also clearly states that this species was imported from beyond Pontus, i.e. the Black Sea area, and indeed Zander ap. Genaust (1996: 534) s.v. rhapónticum, reports similarly that it grows wild in the Bulgarian Rhodope Mountains.
WilfGunther (talk) 18:09, 27 August 2016 (BST)
