THE HERB ROBERT, 363 



hue. In fact, it cannot be supposed that a tribe of 

 plants possessing such marked resinous, aromatic, 

 and astringent qualities, should be simply harmless, 

 or inefficacious. The root of the G. maculdtum, 

 which is sold under the name of alum-root, is a 

 powerful astringent, and is even said to contain 

 more tannin than kino j* and, finally, the tuberous 

 roots, of such species as possess them, are frequently 

 used for food. One of these (the G. tuberosum), 

 grows in the eastern deserts of Egypt, where the 

 Arabs eat its roots. It is called by them temayr ; 

 but is unknown in the valley of the Nile. 



So resinous are some species of the geranium, that 

 the stems will burn like torches, yielding an agree- 

 able and refreshing perfume. Several of the true 

 geraniums have blossoms closely resembling those 

 of the mallow, though they are far more beauti- 

 ful. Amongst these may be mentioned the Gera- 

 nium Sangulneum, which grows in such glorious 

 profusion on our Western limestone coasts ;( pur- 

 pling over crag and broken earth-bank ; or flourish- 

 ing amidst the close-cropped herbage of the moun- 

 tain sheep-walks, with a beauty which in conjunc- 

 tion with the somewhat mallow-like form of its 

 blossoms seems to connect it with the Eastern 

 notion, that geraniums were at first simply mallows, 

 until Mohammed, delighted with the fine texture 

 of a shirt made for him of mallow-fibres, turned 

 that plant into the more beautiful geranium.^: If 



* See Balfour's " Manual of Botany." Third edition. 

 t In other localities it is well known as a garden plant. 

 I This tale is told with variations ; some assert that his 



R 2 



