414 Mr. Drummoiid Hay on certain Plants of Marocco. 



Djebeelat (or the Little Mountains), in contradistinction to the 

 lofty range of Atlas, of which one vast Sierra runs nearly pa- 

 rallel to the Djebeelat. 



It is the true Lotos lotophagorum of the ancients, according 

 to Mr. Schousboe. 



The branch I send you I picked near Has el ain 9 the source 

 of the Tensift, where I saw several of the Rhamnus Lotus (which 

 is generally no larger than a large shrub), about twelve feet 

 high or more, having trunks about three feet in circumference; 

 and which, at a little distance, resembled in their general ap- 

 pearance large hawthorn trees. 



The shrub itself is called Sidra HjX^, and the fruit of it 



Nebak jjjj« — See the Lexicon of Golius, p. 1156 and 2296. 

 The fruit is much eaten in this country, and I have found 

 it very refreshing when just plucked off the tree. It is brought 

 from a considerable distance to this market; and I have today 

 bought a small quantity of it, which I add to my present little 

 selection. It is very harmless food, and much used by the 

 Moors' children. When fresh the fruit has a flavour some- 

 what like gingerbread. 



12. Elccodendron, — the Argan J$j\ of the Moors. The 



specimen sent is from a flourishing tree in the garden of the 

 Danish consulate at this place, of which the seed came from 

 Mogodor. It produces flowers and fruit annually. I send 

 with it a parcel of the seed. The Argan tree is not indige- 

 nous in the northern provinces of Marocco. The oil obtained 

 from its fruit is preferred for its sweetness by the Moors to 

 that of the olive, and is much used by the natives in cookery. 

 It sells therefore for rather a higher price than olive-oil. 



13. Two bulbs of the Scilla undulata, that one of my party 

 took up, on the 1st of January 1830, a little to the north of 



the river Oom Errbek «_j \\ J , " the mother of herbage," 



a poetical name that a botanist may particularly admire (the 

 Morbeya of the maps), about the middle of its course. — See 

 the " Flora Atlantica." 1 understand that it was first disco- 

 vered by Desfontaines, who gives a drawing of it. 



14. Three bulbs of the Lachmolia serotina, — the Hyacinthus 

 serotinus : from the district of the Shtooka tribe before men- 

 tioned. 



'iMJDQl 

 British Consulate, Tangier, April 6, 1831. 



