REVIEWS. 341 
the lanceolate-leaved senna from Abyssinia, Nubia, and Sennaar, from whence it arrives 
by the caravans which convey negroes to Egypt, and the obovate-leaved senna, gathered 
in Upper Egypt. Daraou, between Assouan and Esneh, is also an entrepot; but the 
great depot is at Boulak, the port of Cairo. The senna arrives at Boulak from Assouan, 
not only by the Nile, but also sometimes by the way of Cosseir, the Red Sea, and Suez. 
Lastly, some senna is carried to Boulak by the caravans from Mount Sinai. The mix¬ 
ture of the different leaves takes place at the entrepots. Rouillure says that at Boulak, 
' 500 parts of acute (lanceolate) leaves are mixed with 300 of obtuse (obovate) leaves and 
200 of Arghel leaves. From Boulak the senna is sent to Alexandria, and from thence 
is shipped to Europe. 
(“ To this account of the author taken from Delile, Burckhardt, and others, may be 
added the more recent statement of Tgnatius Pallme, who travelled in the interior of 
Africa. He says, 1 Senna is found in abundance in many parts of Kordofan, but the leaves 
are not collected on account of the existing monopoly. The government draws its entire 
supply from Dongola in Nubia, which is the true native country of senna, and sells them 
under the denomination of Alexandrian or Egyptian senna, though not one-fiftieth of 
the leaves are collected in Egypt, as they are -first met with at Assouan in Nubia.— Ed.) 
“We also frequently find in Alexandrian senna, as imported , mixed with the leaflets 
of the two species of Cassia, a variable proportion of the leaf-stalks, flowers, and legumes 
of the same plants, and also of the leaves, flowers, and fruits of Solenostemma ( Cynan - 
chum ) Arghel , and rarely, of the leaflets and legumes of Tephrosia Apollinea , beside 
other extraneous matters, as date-stones, rabbit-dung, etc. All these are directed in the 
Pharmacopoeia to be carefully removed before the senna is fit for use; it then consti¬ 
tutes what is properly termed picked Alexandrian senna , to which the officinal charac¬ 
ters apply. 
“ Officinal Characters. —Lanceolate or obovate leaflets, about an inch long, unequally 
oblique at the base, brittle, greyish-green, of a faint peculiar odour, and mucilaginous 
sweetish taste. 
“ Description. —The leaflets of Alexandrian senna present a more or less broken ap¬ 
pearance. Alexandrian senna varies much in its constitution. When picked according 
to the directions of the British Pharmacopoeia, it is generally composed chiefly of the 
lanceolate leaflets, mixed with a few obovate leaflets; but recently large importations of 
this kind of senna have taken place, composed almost entirely of obovate leaflets. 
It has a nauseous, mucilaginous taste, and a peculiar odour, somewhat resembling that 
of tea. 
“ The senna leaflets are readily distinguished by being unequal-sided at the base, and 
by the veins or nerves of their under surface being very conspicuous. The lanceolate 
leaflets are very readily distinguished from those of the obovate species, by their shape. 
The dried flowers of Cassia may be easily detected: they are dull yellow. The legumes 
of the lanceolate and obovate Cassia are also found; they are distinguished by the 
botanical characters before described. 
“ Adulterations. —Alexandrian senna, as imported, always contains, as noticed above, 
a variable proportion of extraneous matters, which are directed to be removed. The 
more serious admixture is that of the Arghel leaves, flowers, and fruits ( Solenostemma 
Arghel ), and of the leaflets and legumes of Tephrosia Apollinea. Arghel leaves, flowers, 
and fruit. —The Arghel plants are collected by the Arabs, in the valleys of the desert to 
the east and south of Assouan. The leaves found in the Alexandrian senna are dis¬ 
tinguished from the senna leaflets by their being equal-sided, by the absence or imper¬ 
fect development of their lateral nerves, by their paler colour, thicker and more coriaceous 
texture, by a yellowish exudation frequently found on them, and generally, though not 
invariably, by their greater length. By careful picking the flowers may be detected ; 
they are white, and in small corymbs. The fruit, as found in Alexandrian senna, a 
little exceeds in size a large orange-pip. It is ovate-shaped, tapering superiorly, brown, 
shrivelled, and contains several seeds. Tephrosia leaflets and legumes. —The Tephrosia 
Apollinea grows in cultivated fields near the Nile, at Hermonthis, at Edfou, and in the 
Elephantine Islands, opposite Assouan. The leaflets have a silky or silvery aspect; 
they are obovate-oblong, somewhat cuneiform, emarginate, equal-sided, tapering towards 
the base, lateral veins parallel, regular, and oblique to the midrib. These leaflets are 
usually folded longitudinally, and are very apt to be overlooked. The legume is from 
an inch to an inch and a half long, not exceeding two lines broad, linear, slightly ensi- 
form, and contains six or seven brownish seeds. 
