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Of Apples of Love
The Description.
THe Apple of Love bringeth forth very long round stalkes or branches, fat and full of juice, trailing upon the ground, not able to sustain himselfe upright by reason of the tendernesse of the stalkes, and also the great weight of the leaves and fruit wherewith it is surcharged. The leaves are great, and deeply cut or jagged about the edges, not unlike to the leaves of Agrimonie, but greater, and of a whiter greene colour: Amongst which come forth yellow floures growing upon short stems or footstalkes, clustering together in bunches: which being fallen there doe come in place faire and goodly apples, chamfered, uneven, and bunched out in many places; of a bright shining red colour, and the bignesse of a goose egge or a large pippin. The pulpe or meat is very full of moisture, soft, reddish, and of the substance of a wheat plumme. The seed is small, flat and rough: the root small and threddy: the whole plant is of a ranke and stinking savour.
There hath happened unto my hands another sort, agreeing very notably with the former, as well in leaves and stalkes as also in floures and roots, onely the fruit hereof was yellow of colour, wherein consisteth the difference. The Place.
Apples of Love grow in Spaine, Italie, and such hot Countries, from whence my selfe have received seeds for my garden, where they doe increase and prosper. The Time.
It is sowne in the beginning of Aprill in a bed of hot horse-dung, after the maner of muske Melons and such like cold fruits.
The Names.
The Apple of Love is called in Latine Pomum Aureum, Poma Amoris, and Lycopersicum: of some, Glaucium: in English, Apples of Love, and Golden Apples: in French, Pommes d'amours. Howbeit there be other golden Apples whereof the Poets doe fable, growing in the Gardens of the daughters of Hesperus, which a Dragon was appointed to keepe, who, as they fable, was killed by Hercules.
The Temperature.
The Golden Apple, with the whole herbe it selfe is cold, yet not fully so cold as Mandrake, after the opinion of Dodonaeus. But in my judgement it is very cold, yea perhaps in the highest degree of coldnesse: my reason is, because I have in the hottest time of Summer cut away the superfluous branches from the mother root, and cast them away carelesly in the allies of my Garden, the which (notwithstanding the extreme heate of the Sun, the hardnesse of the trodden allies, and at that time when no rain at all did fal) have growne as fresh where I cast them, as before I did cut them off; which argueth the great coldnesse contained therein. True it is, that it doth argue also a great moisture wherewith the plant is possessed, but as I have said, not without great cold, which I leave to every mans censure.
The Vertues.
In Spaine and those hot Regions they use to eate the Apples prepared and boiled with pepper, salt, and oyle: but they yeeld very little nourishment to the body, and the same naught and corrupt.
Likewise they doe eate the Apples with oile, vinegre and pepper mixed together for sauce to their meat, even as we in these cold countries doe Mustard.