COL. GRANT—BOTANY OF THE SPEKE AND GRANT EXPEDITION. 28 
In the month of October, at 79 8. lat., it was in full leaf, flower, and fruit. Тһе latter hang like 
bunches of grapes, but in а remarkable manner, from the trunk or boughs of the tree, mostly 
separate and away from the leaves. Each fruit is а plum, sparrow-egg size; and 200 of these may 
be in а single bunch 2 feet in length; they are yellow, of а sweet, sour, or turpentine taste, 
not much pulp, with rather a compressed stone. The flower of this tree is very diminutive; the 
calyx is cup-shaped, with five angles; the corolla is twice the length, and of five parts. Seen 
nowhere except by rivers near the coast. 
Podsho= Krapf’s cereals and vegetables. * Posho” or “ Podsho” is the cry of the native porters when 
demanding food. 
Poogamboo (Kin.), not determined. Moderate-sized tree, with the branches growing horizontally flat 
from the main stem. Leaves alternate, З by 2 inches, thin, closely and parallel-ribbed, downy on 
both surfaces, but more so underneath. 
Reechop'wa (Keeao), Hibiscus, sp. Affords an elastic and silky rope from its fibre. The plant is cul- 
tivated іп Unyoro. Specimen of rope from Unyoro in Kew seed-house. 
Reeg’lah (Egypt), Trianthema crystallina. Nile bank, 19° N. lat. Unknown to all our followers, but 
recognized by Speke, who had seen it in the Somali country, where sheep fatten readily upon 
it. This ice-like plant grows flat upon the bare gravel desert, and glistens like green jewels. It 
has a single, long, tapering root, and a diminutive yellow-tinted flower; the leaves are oval, fleshy, 
and sparkling. 
Reeköössa (Kis.), Urtica dioica? N’yamboozee (Kis.): boozee = a goat. Grows оп the border of Lake 
Windermere (alt. 4000 feet) with much luxuriance. Its long tapering root is a strong purgative. 
Saw this plant, as a fence, round a sacred spot, growing seven feet high. 
Rehan (Kis.), a species of Hyptis, or the general name for the mint family. Sweet basil (Steere); 
mint (Kirk). 
Semsem (—) (Krapf), Sesamum indicum. Mafoot’a, which see. Sown in ridges, grows 81 feet high; a 
very healthy plant, suitable to the country ; ripe in May. 
Soonud or Soontd (Egypt), and Kurrut of Muscat, Acacia arabica. Used for boat-building at 12° N. lat., 
where, and at 10? N. lat., there are forests of it. Тһе pods, some 8 inches long, are full of a brown 
crisp gum, which also exudes from wounds in the trunk ; these pods are collected by the Nubians, 
who dye their cotton stuffs a dingy yellow with them. Some trees measured 8 and 12 feet in 
circumference when upon high and dry ground, and had a round, handsome outline of foliage ; 
but those upon low islands never attain these dimensions, as their roots have no hold of the soil, 
and they get felled by strong winds. Its wood is said not to last long, although it is tough and 
· cross in the grain. 
Tanga-tanga (Kin.). 
Tanga-wisi— ginger (Kirk). 
Thatoora (Egypt), Datura Stramonium. Bushy herbaceous plant, at 28° М. lat., Nile bank. Long, 
tapering root and bell flowers. Тһе captain of our diabeeah carried a quantity of these plants on 
board, and told us they are smoked in pipes for chest-complaint or spitting of blood. Another 
Nubian said that they were so used to cure delirium tremens, or nausea after a drunken bout. 
Tocos’was (Kin.), Hibiscus Sabdariffa. Seeds eaten roasted and ground at Ugani, where it is cultivated. 
Wanyamezi eat the leaves. 
Toong'gooj-ah (Kis.), ? Solanum. Shrub 6 to 8 feet high, covered with thorny, yellow fruit, showing 
_ distinctly five divisions ; the calyx of these is cut off, and the rough-skinned fruit is stuck upon 
` the finger like a thimble when there is a sore. Tungudsha of Krapf. 
Uranga (Kis.), ?arrowroot. Saw a field of it in Usagara. Leaf, petiole, and bulb all eaten. Simba 
Uranga is a great swamp, with mangroves, in the island of Zanzibar (Steere). Uwanga=arrow- 
root (Krapf) = Tacca pinnatifida (Kirk), the starch from its root. 
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