494 



(lisiacal properties of a most extraordinary 

 nature. 



The bark of the young branches of a 

 Stereospermum, a member of the same family 

 as the last, is rolled on sticks, and when dry 

 made into flutes. 



There are several plants belonging to the 

 Dog-banes, or Apocyneae, indigenous in 

 Abyssinia. The fruits of Carissa edulis and 

 C. tomentosa are eaten. Asclepiadeas, nume- 

 rous in Africa, especially the tuberous-rooted 

 species of Southern Africa, furnish one or two 

 edible roots. The boiled tubers of Ceropegia 

 Vignaldiana resemble Jerusalem artichokes ,; 

 and those of a Gomphocarpus are also eaten 

 when peeled and boiled. 



Solanace^ are plentiful. Several varieties 

 of tobacco are cultivated ; and Capsicum 

 conoides is grown in considerable quantities, 

 and used as pepper. It possesses an aromatic 

 pungency in a high degree, and a very small 

 quantity is required to season a dish. If taken 

 too freely it irritates the stomach and intes- 

 tines, and induces dysentery. Solanum mar- 

 ginatum is made use of in tanning leather, 

 and the fruit of another species is employed 

 as a cathartic. 



A jasmine, Jasminum floribundum, has in- 

 tensely bitter leaves, which are used as an 

 anthelmintic. The Large family of the Com- 

 positece is well represented in Abyssinia ; but 

 the species are not so numerous as might 

 have been expected. The aromatic leaves of 

 Dichrocepha latifolia are used as a spice. 



Carthamus tinctorius is cultivated, and an 

 oil extracted from its seeds. Myrsinace^e are 

 few. The fruit of a species of Myrsine is 

 mixed with barley, and given to mules and 

 asses, and that of Massa lanceolata is regard- 

 ed as vermifugal. Cordia Abyssinia, Cori- 

 diacese, should be mentioned. Bruce informs 

 us that all the towns are planted with them. 

 Every house in Gondar has two or three 

 planted around it. The flowers are con- 

 spicuous, white in colour, and very profuse, 

 so that in the flowering season the towns are 

 exceedingly gay and pleasant. 



Rubiaceae and Cinchonaceje are numerous, 

 and many of them very beautiful, and interest- 

 ing. The most important is the coffee bush, 



TJlc Country Gcntlcuiaiis Magazine 



Cofifea Arabica, a native of the south-western 

 part of Abyssinia, and commonly cultivated. 

 It was, however, first known to Europeans 

 from Arabia, hence the specific name ; but it 

 has since been ascertained that it was origin- 

 ally introduced into that country by the Arabs, 

 and cultivated in Yemen, whence was derived 

 all the coffee used for upwards of two cen- 

 turies. It is asserted that the custom of 

 drinking coffee was first practised by the 

 Abyssinians, by whom it has been cultivated 

 from time immemorial, and was introduced 

 into Arabia in the fifteenth century. 



Two or three species of Strychnos are indi- 

 genous; and the fmits are manufactured into 

 snuff boxes. Tupa Rhynchopetalum (see 

 figure given at p. 90 of the present volume), 

 a Lobeliaceous plant, called Djibarra, is 

 extremely venomous ; the smoke of its 

 wood, if inhaled, causes vomiting; and even 

 its atmosphere is said to be fatal. Seeds 

 of this plant, mixed Avith butter, have the 

 power of facilitating parturition. Another 

 plant of this family, Cyphia glandulifera, 

 has farinaceous tubers, which are eaten 

 by the poor people. 



About thirty species of Umbelliferje are re- 

 corded from Abyssinia, some of which are re 

 markable in the family on account of their 

 shrubby or arborescent character. One, 

 Steganotsenia, attains a height of twenty to 

 thirty feet, with a solid ligneous trunk. 



Cucurbitaceas are rare in a wild state. 

 Cucumbers are cultivated and eaten. 



Passifloreee are comparatively scarce in 

 Abyssinia, but on the Avestern side of the 

 continent, and in the south, there are several 

 genera not hitherto discovered in any other 

 part of the world, some of which probably will 

 be found by future explorers in Abyssinia. 

 They are, Tryphostemma, Basananthe, Sraeath- 

 mannia, Bartonia, Crossostemma, Machadoa, 

 Acharia, and Ceratiosicyos. 



Leguminosoe are abundant, cultivated and 

 wild, and many of them are of great beauty. 

 Thorny gum-producing Acacias, Mimosas, 

 and Indigoferas rre common. Indigo is ob- 

 tained from the Indigofera argentea, and the 

 powdered fruit of a Nulletia is a. fish poison. 

 A valuable vermifuge is yielded by Albizzia 



