maly aci: A'.. 
07 
employed in soups, to render them thick, rich, and nourishing. 
It is an important ingredient in the peculiar dish of the country, 
called calalou. An infusion of the fruit, and also the leaves, is 
much recommended in affections of the urinary organs. It is 
a common opinion in Egypt, that the use of this vegetable pro- 
tects against the attacks of stone or gravel. It has .also been 
recommended in cases of consumption. Barham mentions, 
that by the constant use of the Okra as food, he cured in 12 
months a case of this disease. The pods, with the seeds, dried 
and reduced to a powder, may be preserved for a length of time, 
and employed to thicken soups or broths. This plant grows in 
the hottest and dryest parts of the Island, and is in constant 
bearing. It does not thrive in the higher mountains. It is 
said to have originally been a native of the Old World. 
5. Hibiscus Abelmoschus. Musk Okra. 
Leaves subpeltate cordate S-or sub-5-lobed acumin- 
ate serrated, stem hirsute, peduncles longer than the 
petiole, involucellum 8-9-leaved, calyx bursting 
longitudinally, capsule pyramidal 5-sided setose. 
Alcea hirsuta, semine moschato, Marcgr. Bras. 45. t. 45. — 
Browne , 285. — Hibiscus Abelmoschus, Cav. diss. III. t. 02. f. 
2. — Willd. Sp. III. 826 . — Be Cand. Prod. I. 452. 
HAB. Cultivated : rarely found wild. 
FL. Throughout the year. 
Suffruticose, seldom lasting longer than a year, about 4 feet 
in height, hirsute. Leaves 3-nerved, hirsute above, stellato- 
hirsute beneath. Peduncles axillary, solitary. Calyx cleft on 
one side, 5-toothed. Petals sulphur-yellow, with the claws 
crimson. Stigmata 5, capitate, velvety. Capsule pyramidal, 
5-sided, setose : seeds numerous, of a musky smell. 
This plant evidently belongs, from the character of the 
calyx, to the 3d Section, Manihot of De Candolle. It is sup- 
posed to be a native of both Indies. The seeds are warm to 
the taste, and have a strong musky odour. They are said to 
be emetic, and it has been proposed to employ them in nervous 
and spasmodic diseases as a substitute for the more expensive 
drug, which it resembles, at least, in smell. According to M. 
de Humboldt, they are given, by the Spaniards of New 
Andalusia, as a remedy for the bite of the Rattle-snake. The 
Arabians also are said to perfume their coffee with them in the 
state of powder. They are sometimes employed to adulterate 
genuine musk, and as a substitute for it in perfumery. 
G. Hibiscus Subdariffa. Indian Sorrel. 
Leaves dentate, lower ones ovate undivided, upper 
