Botany,’ tab. 111, “raised from seeds gathered by Afzelius at 
Sierra Leone :” nor do we hesitate to pronounce, notwithstanding 
some trifling discrepancies, that it is also the 4. exscapum of Dr. 
Sims, figured and described in the first volume of ‘ Annals of 
Botany,’ p. 548. t. 13, from specimens raised by Mr. Loddiges 
of Hackney, the seeds of which were sent by Professor Afzelius 
from Sierra Leone. 4. Afzelii, Roscoe, is acknowledged to be 
identical with the 4. exscapum, Sims. Beyond the above syn- 
onyms we dare not go. Linnaeus we quote with doubt; for 
that author refers to Rheede’s figure in the ‘ Hortus Malabaricus,’ 
and gives Madagascar, as well as Guinea, for the native country 
of the species ; to which Willdenow adds Ceylon. 
The term Melegueta or Mellegetta Pepper has been applied to 
several Zingiberaccous plants, and to this among them. “It has 
__usually,”’ Dr. Pereira observes, “been considered synonymous 
with the terms ‘ Grains of Paradise and Guinea grains.’ 
Melegueta Pepper is said to have been known in Italy before 
the discovery of the Guinea coast by the Portuguese in the 
fifteenth century. It was brought by the Moors, who used to 
cross the region of Mandingha and the deserts of Libya, and 
carry it to Mundi Barca (or Monte de Barca), a port in the 
Mediterranean. The Italians, not knowing the place of its origin, 
as it is so precious a spice, called it ‘ Grana Paradisi. Another 
kind of Amomum, known as Melegueta Pepper, is the A. Mele- 
gueta, Roscoe, figured? in that author’s work on Scitamineous 
Plants. The flowers are small, the leaves long and narrow, and 
the fruits very large and pear-shaped. ‘The fruits of both kinds 
seem to be indifferently employed in lieu of pepper in Western 
Africa, and are esteemed the most wholesome of spices, and 
generally used by the natives to season their food. he principal 
consumption of Grains of Paradise in Europe is in veterinary 
medicine, and to give an artificial strength to spirits, wine, beer, 
and vinegar. Although the seeds are by no means injurious, 
an act was passed in 56 Geo. III. c. 58, that no brewer or 
dealer in beer shall have in his possession or use Grains of 
Paradise, under a penalty of £200 for each offence; and no 
druggist shall sell it to a brewer, under a penalty of £500 for 
each offence.” —See Pereira. Our plants flower in the stove in 
May, and make a handsome appearance. 
Descr. Roots creeping, or rather they increase by aggregation 
of the tuberous knobs of a red colour, from which the stems arise. 
Stems sterile, two to three feet high, very red at the base, and 
dull purplish-red above from the long sheathing petioles of the 
foliage. Leaves sparse, small, and remote below, more approxi- 
mate above, yet distant, spreading obliquely, not horizontally, 
elliptical lanceolate, with a very narrow long, almost setiform 
