Flora Medica

CASSIA.536. C. acutifolia Delile cegypt.t. 27. f. 1. C. SennaS. and C. \. t. 30. good. C. medica Forsk. fl.arab. p. cxi.Arabia felix Forsk. ; Upper Egypt and Nubia, between the Nileand Red Sea,The only differences that I perceive between this, which furnishesAlexandrian senna, and the last species, consist in the leaflets beingovate not lanceolate, and the legumes much shorter and rounder. Itfurnishes the principal part of the senna consumed in this country, andwhen unadulterated it is one of the best of all purgatives ;but is verymuch mixed, in some samples it is said to the extent of 20 per cent,with leaves of Tephrosia Apollinea, and Cynanchum Argel, and it iseven reported to be mixed with Coriaria myrtifolia. All such adulterationsare, however, readily detected by any careful observer. The leavesof T. Apollinea are obovate, almost wedge-shaped, of CynanchuinArgel thick, veinless, longer, downy or smooth, and of Coriaria ribbed.537. C. lance olata Forsk. p. 85. Surdud, Mohr, and AbuArisch in Arabia. (Suna of the Arabs.)Leaflets 1 inch long, in 5 pairs,, on short stalks, lanceolate, green ;with a sessile gland above the base of the petiole. Racemes terminal,long, pale yellow. Pods linear, villous, compressed, incurved ; notseen ripe. Such are the words of Forskahl, who asserts positivelythat this is the true Senna of Mecca. It is obvious that the villouspods and glandular petiole are quite at variance with both C. elongataand acutifolia.*538. C. uethiopica Guibourt hist. abr. ed. 3. ii. 219. C. ovataMerat. diet. mat. med. vol. vi. p. 311. Sene de Nubie Nectouxvoyage dans la haute Egypte t. 2. Nubia, Fezzan, south ofTripoli.I cannot doubt the propriety of distinguishing this kind of Senna,which has not only a gland at the base of the petiole, but anotherbetween each pair of leaflets. About 18 inches high; leaflets in 3-5pairs, pubescent, oval-lanceolate, 7-9 lines long, 3-4 broad, and consequentlysmaller, shorter and less acute than in C. acutifolia. Legumessmooth, not reniform, rounded, 11-15 lines long, tawny, containingflat,3-5 seeds. Guibourt. This furnishes exclusively the Senna of Tripoliwhich according to Guibourt is extremely uniform in its appearance.539. C. obovata Coll. mon. 92. ii.DC.prodr. 492. C. SennaLinn. sp. pi. 539. Lam. illustr. t. 332. C. obtusa Wall. herb.No. 5319. and consequently W. and A. i. 288. Senna obtusaRoxb.fl. ind. ii. 344. C. Porturegalis Bancroft according toW. and A. C. Burmanni Wallich in Madras Journal, April1837, p. 354. Wight 1. c. July p. 71. t. 5. High dry uncultivatedlands of Mysore Egypt ; ; desert of Suez, Nubia, Central* As this sheet was about to be printed off I was so fortunate as to meet with theC. lanceolata of Forskahl, in a collection of Arabian plants (No. 711, collected by Dr. S. Fischer,in Palm grounds in the valley of Fatme, flowering at the end of February. The leafletsare in 4 or 5 pairs, never more ; oblong and either acute or obtuse, not at all ovate or lanceolate,and perfectly free from downiness even when young the petioles have ; constantlya small round brown gland a little above the base. The pods are erect, oblong, tapering tothe base, obtuse, turgid, mucronate, rather falcate, especially when young, at which timethey are sparingly covered with coarse scattered hairs. The species is therefore quite distinctfrom C. elongata, as I at first supposed and; consequently, excellent as the TinnivellySenna is, a sort of still finer quality may be expected from India, as soon as this, the trueSenna of Mecca shall have been introduced into the Peninsula.259 s 2