DRUGS. 



N. O. 55. LINAGES. FLAXWORTS. 

 Linum usitatissimum. Linn. Common Flax. 



Linn. Syst. Pentandria Pentagrynia. 



The seed. 



Vernacular. Atasi, Matusee, Ooma, Sans. Ulsee, Tisi, Musina 

 Musnee, Hind. Jowus, Dec. Aliveree, Alle-seroo-sanul, Tarn. 

 Buzruc, Kettan, Arab. Kutan, Pers. 



Habitat. Egypt. Cultivated widely in Europe and India. 



Remarks. First mentioned Exod. is. 31. It is remarkable that 

 Hemp and Flax, extensively cultivated in India, are not so, as in Europe, 

 for their fibres, but for the narcotic resinous extract in one case, and for 

 the seed in the other. The Arabic for cotton is Koton. See also " Oils 

 and Oil-seeds." 



N. O. 62. ZYGOPHYLLACE^;. BEAN CAPERS. 

 Balanites aegyptiaca. Delile. 



Linn. Syst. Decandria Monogynia. 



The fruit. 



Vernacular. Hingen, Beng. Hingenbet, By. Hudgah, Sholapore. 

 Nunjoond, Tarn. Gara, Tel. Hilelge, Ilaledsch, Arab. In 

 Egypt, Egleeg (Arab.) ; by the negroes Soum, and the fruit 

 commonly Lalob. 



Habitat. Egypt. Found planted (?) in different parts of India. 



Remarks. There can be no doubt that this is the Persea of the ancient 

 Egyptians, sacred to Athor, as suggested by Delile. Royle objects to 

 the reference, as the fruit of the Persea is described (by Pliny) as being 

 very agreeable, whereas the pulp of the Egleeg is exceedingly bitter and 

 nauseous. Pliny, b. xiii. c. 17, in truth speaks of the Persea as " par- 

 ticularly inviting for its luscious sweetness" (Bostock and Riley), but 

 it is clear that he here confounds (as Dioscorides before him would also 

 appear to have done) the Persea with the Peach or Persica, for in b. xv. 

 c. 13, writing of the Persica or Peach, he states, "it is quite untrue that 

 the peach which grows in Persia is poisonous, and produces dreadful 

 tortures, or that the kings of that country from motives of revenge had 

 it transplanted to Egypt, where, through the nature of the soil, it lost all 

 its evil properties ; for we find that it is of the Persea that the more 

 careful writers have stated all this." The Egleeg is the Myrobalonus 

 chebulus of Wealing, but it is quite distinct from the true Chebulic 

 myrobalan catalogued below. See "Miscellaneous" Class. 



Tribulus terrestris. Linn. Small Caltrops. 



Linn. Sytt. Decandria Monogynia. 



The fruit. 

 16 



