538 LEGUMINOSH—MIMOSE. 
of cooling laxative drinks, and in other ways. The preserved pulp is official 
in the British Pharmacopeeia. 
Trachylobium.—Sir John Kirk has shown that 7. mossambicense is the 
botanical source of the kind of Zanzibar Copal known as ‘ Sandarusi-m’ti,’ 
Tree Copal. He also believes that the Copal known in the English market 
as ‘ Animé,’ the most valuable of all, and which ‘is now dug’ from the soil, 
is the produce of extinct forests, but probably derived originally from the 
same species of Trachylobium. Sir Joseph Hooker exhibited specimens of 
Fossil Copal at a meeting some years since of the Linnean Society, from 
T. Hornemannianum. This and other kinds of Copal are used in the pre- 
paration of varnishes. brazilian Copal is said by some to be derived from 
T. Martianum and several species of Hymenza, but on no reliable authority, 
The origin of the kind of Copal known as Angola Copal is at present unde- 
termined. It has been referred to 7. Martianum, but this tree has never 
been found in Africa. (See Hymenwa and Copaifera. ) 
Sub-order 3, Mimose.—The plants of this sub-order are chiefly re- 
markable for yielding gum and astringent substances. Some few are 
reputed to be poisonous, as Acacia varians, the root of a Brazilian species of 
Mimosa, the leaves and branches of Prosopis utiliflora, the bark of Erythro- 
phieum guineense, &c. 
Acacia.—Various species of this genus yield gum, to which the common 
name of Gum Arabic is applied ; but this is a misnomer, as very little gum 
is collected in, and none is exported from, Arabia. It is official in the British 
Pharmacopeeia under the name of Gum Acacia, and is said to be obtained 
from Acacia Senegal (A. Verek), and other species of Acucia. The more 
important varieties now known in the London market are as follows: 
Kordofan, Picked Turkey, or White Sennaar Gum, which is derived from A. 
Senegal ( Verek) ; Senegal Gum, also from A. Senegal; Suakin Gum, Talea, 
or Talha Gum, ‘from A. stenocarpa and A. Seyal, Delile, var. Fistula ; 
Morocco, Mogadore, or Brown Barbary Gum, from A. arabiea, Willd. ; Cape 
Gum, principally from A. horridu (A. capensis); East India Gum, from A. 
arabica, and other species; and Australian or Wattle Gum, from various 
species, as 4. pyenantha, A. decurrens, A. dealbata, and A. homalophylla ; 
but the botanical sources of some of these commercial varieties cannot as yet 
be said to have been definitely determined. The extract prepared from the 
duramen or inner wood of Acacia Catechu furnishes a kind of Catechu or 
Cutch, which is commonly known as Black Catechu ; it is a powerfully 
astringent substance, containing much tannic acid, and largely employed in 
the processes of tanning and dyeing, and also to some extent in medicine. 
(See Uncaria Gambier. ) The dried legumes of A. ni/otica are imported 
under the names of Web-neb, Nib-nib, or Bablah, and are also used by tanners 
on account of their astringent properties. The bark of A. arabica possesses 
similar properties, and is used extensively in India under the name of Babul 
Bark as a substitute for oak bark. The barks of several other species which 
are natives of the East Indies possess similar astringent properties. ‘lhe 
extract of the bark of A. melanoxylon, an Australian species, is also a valuable 
tanning substance, and is frequently imported on that account into this 
country. The bark is also sometimes imported under the name of Acacia 
Bark.—A. JSormosa, a native of Cuba, furnishes a very hard, tough, and 
durable wood, of a dull red colour, called Sabicu. This is the wood that was 
used in constructing the stairs of the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, at the 
Great Exhibition in 1851, and which upon removal was found to be but 
little worn. The flowers of A. Farnesiana are very fragrant, and when 
distilled with water or spirit yield a delicious perfume. This plant also 
yields a valuable gum.—A. Seyal is supposed to be the Shittah-tree or 
Shitiim-wood of the Bible. By others, however, the plant yielding this wood 
has been thought to be A. vera, and by some 'A.horrida’ The first is pro- 
bably correct. 
