3 [ 6 Journal of Travel and Natural History 



coffee used for upwards of two centuries. 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 indigenous; and the fruits 

 are manufactured into snufif boxes. Tupa Rhynchopetalum 

 (see a figure already given in No. 3 of this Journal), 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 Umbelliferoe are recorded from Abyssinia 

 some of which are remarkable 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. 



Cucurbitacese are rare in a wild state. Cucumbers are culti- 

 vated and eaten. 



Passifloreffi are comparatively scarce in Abyssinia, but on the 

 western 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, Smeathmannia, Bartonia, 

 Crossostemma, Machadoa, Acharia, and Ceratiosicyos. 



Leguminosce are abundant, cultivated and wild, and many of 

 them are of great beauty. Thorny gum-producing Acacias, 

 Mimosas, and Indigoferas are common. Indigo is obtained from 

 the Indigofera argentea, and the powdered fruit of a Nulletia is a 

 fish poison. A valuable vermifuge is yielded by Albizzia anthel- 

 mintica, which has been successfully employed in various parts of 

 Europe since 1846. It is known under the names of Mussena and 

 Besenna. The pulverised bark is the part administered, which is 

 taken in oil, honey, or preserve. It is said to be even more efii- 

 cacious than Cussoo (Brayera). It kills the tiXnia, and facilitates 

 its decomposition, so that it is the easier expelled. AToquin Tandon 

 says, that in small doses it causes neither purging nor griping, but 

 in too strong doses it acts as a cathartic, and may even become 

 dangerous. To the Rosacete belongs Brayera anthelmintica, the 

 Cussoo, or Cabotz, of Abyssinia, another vermifuge, formerly sup- 

 posed to be the most i)0wcrfu1 in the world. Upon the authority 



