Disputatio:Thuia

Nomen 'arbor vitae'

The name 'arbor vitae' was given to one species of this genus by Iacobus Quarterius, French discoverer in Canada, actually the man who gave Canada that name. In 1535, he and his men were forced to stay over winter in a harsh climate, where they could not find fresh food. As a result, they were weakened by scurvy, so much so that 25 out of 110 died. Consulting a native chief, Cartier was advised to drink a tea made out of the leaves and bark of a tree called Annedda by the locals. Within eight days, he and his men fully recovered. He therefore called the tree 'arbor vitae'. He took seeds of that tree species with him to Europe (at least he believed it to be the seeds of that same species, there is some doubt about it), and gave them to king Franciscus I, who had them planted in his garden in Fons Bleaudi. That's how the name 'arbor vitae' became attached to Thuja. It was the first species of this genus that was imported in Europe. There are literally hundreds of conifer trees and others that keep green over winter, yet none of them is also called tree of life. It was not nicknamed 'tree of life' by North-Americans but by Europeans. The nickname came to America with the English and French settlers. Why the nickname was given became lost very soon, at least in botanical literature. Daléchamps guesses it is because of the fragrance, Bauhin adds to that the immortality of its leaves. 'Thuja' of Theophrastus and other ancient authors was very likely Tetraclinis articulata, but the name was definitely transferred from that species to the North-American tree by Bauhin in 1623. 77.164.133.132 16:23, 28 Ianuarii 2021 (UTC)

• Morin, I. (1545). Brief recit et succincte narration de la navigation faicte es ysles de Canada, etc.: 37 and next
• Belon, P. (1553). De arboribus coniferis resiniferis: 21a: "Est etiam pinaster in hortis regiae Fontanaeblaei ex semine enata, alter arbor vitae dicta. [...] Nemini autem antiquorum ea hoc nomine unquam cognita fuit. Audio quendam ex navigatione novi orbis [...] reportasse"
• Dodoens, R. (1583). Stirpium historiae pemptades sex: 846: "Ex peregrino orbe, Galliae primium advena est facta, tempore Francisci primi Regis Franciae, et in hortos Regiae Fontanaeblaei, ex Canadas Septentrionalis Americae provincia illata; unde ad complura Galliae, et non pauca Belgii pervenit loca, ramulo in terram depacto seritur: radices facile loco haud insolato concipit. Hyemis ac frigoris patiens est, amisso tamen hybernis mensibus eleganti virore, folia ramulisque subnigricant, quae Vere veluti rediviva iterum virorem ac pristinum nitorem recipiunt; ut non temere Arbor Vitae dicta videatur. Nominent siquidem hanc recentiores Arborem vitae, neque aliud exploratum habemus eius vocabulum. Thyam Theophrasti aut Plinii Brutam esse asserere non fuerit facile. Novi orbis, nova stirps habenda est." (Dodoens mentions that the name 'arbor vitae' is only used by 'modern' authors, and that he didn't find it anywhere else. He states it is not easy to assert whether this species is one of the species mentioned by Theophrastus or Plinius; I would like to have a good translation of "ut non temere Arbor Vitae dicta videatur")
• Daléchamps, J. (1587). Historia generalis plantarum: 60: "Thuiae tertium genus in regiis [...] hortis, et quibusdam aliis Lutetiae viret, [...] quam qui Francisco Galliarum Regi dono dedit, Arborem vitae nominavit, fortasse ob odoris vehementiam."
• Bauhin, G. (1623). Pinax theatri botanici: 488: "Haec e Canada Francisco I Galliarum regi, arboris vitae nomine oblata, fortasse ab odoris vehementia vel ob immortalem ejus comam, sic dicta." (possibly copied from Daléchamps)
• Rousseau, J. (1945). L'Annedda, l'arbre employé par Jacques Cartier contre le scorbut. Chronica Botanica 9(2/3): 151–153