SOITAMINEjE. 437 



but IS also known as Gumgi spice, and by its Arabic names of 

 IleiJ and Ilah-cUhahashi. According to Beke, it is conveyed to 

 the market of Baso (10° N. lat,), in Southern Abyssinia, from 

 Tumhe^ a region lying in about 9^ N- lat. and 350 E, long.; 

 thence it is carried to Massowah, on the Red Sea, and shipped 

 for India (?) and Arabia. Yon Heuglin speaks of it as brought 



from the Galla country* It is not improbable that it is the 

 same fruit \\hich SjDcke saw growing in 1862 at Uganda^ in 

 lat. 0°, and which he says is strung like a necklace by the 

 Wagonda people. 



ALPINIA OFFICINARUM, nance. 



Fig. —Bentl and Trim., t 27L The lesser Galangal {Eng.), 

 Petit Galanga, Galanga de la Chine {Fr.), 



Hab, — China. The rhizome. 



Vernacular. — Kulinjan, Pan-ki-jer [HincL), Shitta-rattai 

 {Tam.\ Kulinjan {Mar.), Kulanjan ( Guz.), Kunjara-kathi 

 [Sind.)y Sannaelumparash-trakum [TcL)^ Kalanjan {Can.). 



History, Uses, &C. — The Chinese call the Galangals 



LB ^^ 



Kaon-Icang-lieang and Liang-heang. From the first of these 

 names the Arabs have derived their name Khulanjan or 

 Khowlanji'm, which is applied to the greater and lesser galangal, 

 and is the source of the European name for these drugs. The 

 same name occurs in the Nighanta's, which makes it evident 

 that the Hindus first became acquainted with Chinese galangal 

 through the Arabs. The earliest notice of the drug occurs in 



Persian literature (cf. Bnrhan), where it is stated that Khusru- 

 daru, "Chosros remedy/' was introduced in the time of 

 Noshirwan (6th century). It probably reached Persia by the 

 Central Asian trade route, as we find that it is still used by the 

 Tartars to flavour their tea- Paulus ^gineta (7th century) 

 calls ityaXayyay, and latter Greek writers x^^^'^i^^> y^^^^^^s nndi 

 *:oXovrCta, Ibu Khurdadbah (9th century), in enumerating the 

 productions of a country called Sila, names galangal, and 

 Edrisi^ three hundred years later, mentions it as brought from 



