498 Mr A. Galletly on a [sess. lih. 



^ote on a Siveet Substance called Manna, from a species of 

 Astragalus growing in Persia, and on the Manna of 

 Alhagi maurorum. By A. Galletly. 



(Read 11th April 1889.) 



At Ispahan, in Persia, a favourite sweetmeat, called " gez 

 angubeen," is made from a substance which is known by the 

 name of " gez," mixed with sugar, almonds, and pistachio 

 nuts. This sweetmeat is sent all over the country, and is 

 believed to have been in use for a long period of time. 

 The gez is one of the substances known as manna. It is 

 an exudation from a species of Astragalus growing in the 

 hilly district of Feridoon, 100 miles west of Ispahan and 

 about 8000 feet above the sea. The gez plant is found 

 over a considerable area in Persia, but it is only in this 

 district where the gez or manna is gathered in quantity, and 

 only at Ispahan where this particular sweetmeat is made. 



The so-called manna or gez is a honey -like substance, but 

 remarkably viscid and sticky, so that it cannot be easily 

 transferred from one vessel to another. It consists chiefly 

 of uncrystallisable glucose or fruit sugar and contains no 

 mannite, at least it can contain little more than a trace of 

 this substance. There is also present a considerable quantity 

 of what appears to be gum or mucilage, and it contains 8 

 per cent, of water. The sawdust of the stem of the dried 

 plant contains about 10 per cent, of matter soluble in water. 

 This has the marked taste of liquorice, so that it is probably 

 liquorice sugar. The gathered gez or manna has not the 

 same flavour as the sweet matter from the sawdust. 



A branch of the gez plant is on the table. It was sent 

 to Sir E, Murdoch Smith by a friend at Ispahan, but un- 

 fortunately it has neither leaves nor flowers, so that only the 

 genus can be made out. It is probably either Astragalus 

 florulcntus or A. adscendens, from both of which " manna " 

 is obtained in Persia. 



The manna from the widely-spread shrub Alhagi mauro- 

 rum is well known. Tlie plant occurs in Greece, Asia 

 Muior, Persia, India, and Egypt, extending far south into 

 Africa. This sweet substance is often called Persian manna 

 and also camel-thorn manna. It is obtained in dry, brittle 



