[John J]

For the last few years my wife has been going to classes to learn Italian. On her return from a recent lesson she set me a bit of a poser. They had been translating part of Marco Polo's book Il Milione and had come across a mention of an 'albero solo'. It seems that Marco Polo had encountered this tree in an area bordering Persia that he referred to as Tonocain and that the locals claimed was the site of a battle between Alexander the Great and Darius. He reports that there were no other trees for approx 100 miles around and that the Christians called this lone tree 'albero secco' (dry tree). He describes it as being large with a broad trunk, the wood being strong and yellow, the leaves as being green above and white below and producing a fruit like a chestnut but empty inside.
Does anyone happen to have any knowledge of this tree or could perhaps hazard a guess as to what it might be?

[John J]

Perhaps I should have mentioned that my own guess would be the Oriental Plane Tree, Platanus orientalis. I was interested to see if any other forumers had the same idea.

[Alisdair]

That did strike me, John, after seeing some of the ancient specimens around the Med. But wouldn't Marco Polo have seen one or two such trees nearer home, and been less likely to think of it as something utterly different?

[JTh]

See http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Travels_of_Marco_Polo/Book_1/Chapter_22, footnote 2 (the longest foot note I have ever seen), which seems to confirm that it must have been an oriental plane.

[Alice]

Impressive footnote indeed, Jorun.
But I do have my doubts about Platanus orientalis. As Alisdair suggests, wouldn't Marco Polo have been familiar with it? Also, is the battle referred to between Alexander the Great and Darius the decisive one at Gaugamela (thought to be near Mosul in northern Iraq)? This is a dry steppe-like area (as I understand) and, furthermore, the source does describe it as treeless for miles around. Would one expect plane trees in such a terrain?

[John J]

As is normal in these instances opinions will no doubt differ and arguments continue to be raised for and against certain suspects. What I was pleased to note from Jorun's link was that my wife and her fellow students appear to have translated the gist of the original Italian pretty accurately on the whole!

[Alice]

And does that not add spice to life, John?
There have been recently some doubts about whether Marco Polo ever made it to China: "Did Marco Polo go to China?" by Frances Wood (1995) and research by archaeologists at the University of Naples. They suggest that he got his information about the Far East from Persian merchants he met on the shores of the Black Sea. Who knows?
If he was not averse to making up stories, perhaps we should treat the description of this tree with a pinch of salt...

[John J]

So, another long-standing hero's reputation bites the dust? If the experts have their way we'll soon have no-one to look up to!

[Alice]

Cheer up, John.
Your hero's reputation might be safe after all. A new book "Marco Polo was in China" by Hans Ulrich Vogel (2012) refutes the arguments to the contrary.

[Alisdair]

Could this even be Xerxes's beloved plane tree, mio Platano amato, lauded by the emperor in the opening aria of Handel's opera Serse?
Ombra mai fu
di vegetabile,
cara ed amabile,
soave più.
(never was there shade from a plant so dear and lovable, or gentle)
Obviously no real connection, but for those who enjoy coincidences there is a CD version of this arranged for violin and orchestra, available on Marco Polo, Naxos's full-price record label!