259 



ally seen in the Indian bazaars as an inferior quality of Senna (Watt, 

 Comni. Prod. India, p. 288). 



The leaves are gathered at Khartoum in March when the tree is in 

 full pod, Grows abundantly in this region on the sand-covered 

 fields (Grant, Trans. Linn. Soc. xxix. 1872, p. 64). 



Ref. — " Monograph der Cassien Grappe Senna," Batka, pp. 1-52, 



pis. 1-5 (1866). "Cassia obovata," in "Med. PI. Bentley & 



Trimen," ii. No. 89. " Spurious Alexandrian Senna," Greenish, 



in Pharm. Journ. [1] ix. 1899, pp. 470-471. 



Cassia occidentalis, Linn. ; Fl. Trop. Afr. II. p. 274. 



III.— Bot. Reg. (1815) t. 83 ; Desc. Ant. ii. t. 135 ; Velloso, Fl. 

 Flum. iv. t. 66 ; Ralph, Ic. Carp, t. 18, f. 3 ; Rev. Hort. 1897, p. 156. 



Vernac. names. — Rere (Lagos, Dawodu) ; Rere (W. Africa, 

 Abayomi Cole) ; Abo-Rere (?) (S. Nigeria, Foster) ; Fedigosa or 

 Fedogose (Tette, Zambesi, Livingstone, Moloney) ; [Fedegoso 

 (Ambriz) ; Bantamare (Senegal) ; Munhanoca (Loanda), Cdffe 

 (Golungo Alto) De Wildeman~\ ; Senna mekke (Arabic, Muriel) ; 

 [Mumutum sable (Guam) ; Balatongaso (Philippines) ; Frijolilla 

 (Panama) ; Hierba hedionda (Cuba) ; Hedionda (Porto Rico) 



Safford~] ; Semillo de Platanillo (Cuba, Schutte). Coffee Senna ; 



Negro Coffee ; Wild Coffee ; Cafe Marron ; Cafe negre ; Styptic 

 Weed ; The Stinking Weed ; Small Senna. 



Lagos : N. Bornu ; Ikure (Cross River). Widely distributed in 

 Tropical Africa and throughout the tropics generally. 



The seeds are used in Tropical Africa — Ebo, Port. E. Africa 

 (Stocks, Mus. Kew), Tette (Livingstone, Mus. Kew), Gambia (Mus. 

 Kew), &c. ; Central America, West Indies — Cuba, (Schutte, Mus. 

 Kew), &c. as a substitute for Coffee. 



All parts of the plant are used for various medicinal purposes. 

 An infusion of the leaves is used as a specific for black- water- fever in 

 Lagos (Punch, Herb. Kew) ; as a purgative in Lagos and in Liberia 

 (Dawodu, Herb. Kew ; Holmes, Pharm. Journ. [3] viii. p. 564) ; 

 ground and mixed with palm-oil as a remedy for convulsions, in 

 ophthalmia &c. (Cole, Journ. Soc. Arts, 1905, p. 1069) ; in the treat- 

 ment of certain fevers in Dahomey (De Wildeman, PI. Trop. Grande 

 Cult p. 73) ; useful in cases of yellow fever, and Europeans find a 

 draught of the infusion of the leaves in the early morning an 

 excellent preventive of sick headache (Heckel Pharm. Journ. [4] 

 xi. 1900, p. 439). The root is very bitter — used with good results in 

 intermittent fevers (Hiern, Cat. Welw. Afr. PI. i. p. 193) ; as a 

 specific for gonorrhoea, black-water-fever and malarial dysentery 

 (Cole I.e.) ; and an infusion (one part root to 45 parts boiling water) 

 as a tonic and diuretic in dropsv and liver complaints (Christv, New 

 Comm. PI. & Drugs, No. 8, 1885, p. 40). 



The seeds are sometimes imported into Europe (Jackson, Comm. 

 Bot. Nineteenth Cent. p. 55). 



The plant is easily raised from seed, and appears to grow freely 

 everywhere. 



Ref. — " Cassia occidentalis and Negro Coffee," in Pharm. Journ. 



[3] vi. 1876, p. 909. Negro Coffee," in Kew Report, 1881, 



pp. 34-35. " Sur le M'bentamare ou Fedegosa (Cassia occident- 

 alis) " : Etude de botanique de matiere medicale et de therapeutique, 



Heckel, in Archives de Medicine Navale 1887. " Cassia Occident- 



alis? in Diet, Econ. Prod. India, Watt, ii. 1899, pp. 221-223. 



16583 F 2 



