Of herbs possessing some value for man, Phoenicia produces sage,
rosemary, lavender, rue, and wormwood.[259] Of flowers she has an
extraordinary abundance. In early spring (March and April) not only the
plains, but the very mountains, except where they consist of bare rock,
are covered with a variegated carpet of the loveliest hues[260] from
the floral wealth scattered over them. Bulbous plants are especially
numerous. Travellers mention hyacinths, tulips, ranunculuses, gladioli,
anemones, orchises, crocuses of several kinds--blue and yellow and
white, arums, amaryllises, cyclamens, &c., besides heaths, jasmine,
honeysuckle, clematis, _multiflora_ roses, rhododendrons, oleander,
myrtle, astragalus, hollyhocks, convolvuli, valerian, red linum,
pheasant's eye, guelder roses, antirrhinums, chrysanthemums, blue
campanulas, and mandrakes. The orchises include "_Ophrys atrata_, with
its bee-like lip, another like the spider orchis, and a third like the
man orchis;"[261] the cyclamens are especially beautiful, "nestling
under every stone and lavish of their loveliness with graceful tufts of
blossoms varying in hue from purest white to deepest purple pink."[262]
The multiflora rose is not common, but where it grows "covers the banks
of streams with a sheet of blossom;"[263] the oleanders fringe their
waters with a line of ruby red; the mandrake (_Mandragora officinalis_)
is "one of the most striking plants of the country, with its flat disk
of very broad primrose-like leaves, and its central bunch of dark blue
bell-shaped blossom."[264] Ferns also abound, and among them is the
delicate maidenhair.[265]

The principal garden vegetables grown at the present day are melons,
cucumbers, gourds, pumpkins, turnips, carrots, and radishes.[266] The
kinds of grain most commonly cultivated are wheat, barley, millet, and
maize. There is also an extensive cultivation of tobacco, indigo, and