PLANTS FROM WHICH SENNA-LEAVES ARE OBTAINED. 363 
buying this Alexandrian commercial sort, till the practice 
is given up. 
The narrow-leaved Mecca senna, which I have desig- 
nated Senna angustifolia, is mixed with the small felty 
leaves of a tender plant, which I discovered in it some time 
since ; and having recently received it from Delile as a va- 
riety of his C. acutifolia, I now take the liberty to introduce 
it as Senna tomentosa. This plant is no shrub, but like 
the Mecca and Tinevelly senna, merely an herbaceous 
plant. It has, therefore, only very delicate, but not ligneous 
stalks, like the Senna acutifolia and obovata. It is impos- 
sible, in my opinion, to regard this Senna tomentosa as a 
variety of acutifolia, for not only the felt-like leaves and 
fruits, but also the whole habit, is much more delicate and 
different, while the leaves are considerably smaller, and of 
a more oval form, which certainly possesses a small point 
(mucro) but no bird's-tongue-like appearance, as Senna 
acutifolia. Delile accounts for this, by assuming that the 
hairy character is neither constant, nor a safe criterion when 
the leaves and fruits are perfectly developed, and I myself 
do not consider it of great importance ; but still in one and 
the same bale of Mecca Senna these leaves and fruits are 
found in several stages : and although the fruits, if the seeds 
be perfectly ripe, having actually lost the blackish color and 
part of the yellowish hair, still their upper suture always 
remains, as I have had frequent opportunity of satisfying 
myself, and, contrary to what is the case with the follicles 
of Se?ina acutifolia and angustifolia, distinctly ciliated 
with fine hair ; and likewise the leaves, even when full 
grown (5—6"" long and 3— 33§'" broad) are always felt- 
like and furnished with whitish hair. Darnaud sent this 
plant in 1843 to Delile from the valley of Dumrich in 
Nubia ; but Bore had previously discovered it in Arabia, 
and the bale which I examined had been imported from 
Yemen, (in Arabia.) At first I took these delicate small 
hairy leaves to be another sort (Tephrosia *dpollinea) 
