356 DR. LEICHARDTS OVERLAND JOURNEY 
found in great abundance in a camp of the natives; but they 
were excessively bitter, and neither roasting nor boiling 
would render them palatable; at last they pounded them 
carefully, washed the pulp, and obtained a tasteless starch, 
which very much resembled arrowroot. The seed-vessels, 
the stems (ombelborro) and tubers (toori) of the Nymphea 
were eaten by the natives of the upper Burdekin, and of the 
east coast of the gulf, and gave the travellers some hearty 
meals, The thick root of a little bean with yellow blossoms, 
and those of a species of Convolvulus on the plains of the 
Albert, formed the principal part of the repast of Nywall's 
tribe, near the East Alligator River. But the finest and 
most substantial food, was the allamur, or murruatt, the 
mealy rhizoma, or subterranean stem of a sedge, which the 
natives, of the Alligator Rivers and of the Coburg Pen — 
sula obtained in-large quantities. Amongst the fruits there — 
was a small lemon, which abounded in the scrubs of Exp — 
dition Range and Comet River. The seeds of the kourad- 4 
jong (Grewia sp.) yielded, when boiled for a long time, 4^ - 
agreeable acidulous drink. Those of Sterculia heterophylla 
(the kooremin), and of the rose-coloured Sterculia, round the : 
gulf, made, when slightly roasted, a fine coffee, and d. 
remaining grounds were good to eat. 'The spongy wood of 
the bottle-tree, a species of Sterculia, contained a ce 
mealy substance between its fibres, which, when chew 
satisfied the cravings of hunger. : EEE 
.. The seeds of the Pris bean, so called, from being 
found first and most abundantly in the sandy bed of f^? 
. river, formed a good substitute for coffee; those of 34 
. Nelumbium were however much finer, and the remain 
grounds were agreeable to eat, and wholesome. The + 
the vine-bean of the Roper a species of Mucuna? W^ 
pounded and boiled for a long time formed a very satis 
meal. Several species of Capparis, either shrubs or S" 
trees, had edible fruits, they contained a sweet pulpy 5" 
stance, in which the seeds were embedded; the latter 
however very pungent, At the Isaacks a little tree ' 
