Mayi] PROCEEDINGS. [1894.PossiblyBab.binuis the source of the Arab. ^{1 ban, Guilan-
dinaMoringa; a plant which resemblesthe Jj\ athl or tamarisk,accordingto Dioscorides (iv, 157) quotedby Ibn al Baitar. Forskal
foundthisnamebanapplied to the Egyptian willow(SalixAegyp-
tiaca). For a description of the shrub, see Leclerc's Ibn al Baitar ;
Butrus al Bustani, Encycl. Arabe, Vol. 5 ; and Muhit al Muhit,
Vol.1.
Kimmatuagreesverywell withthe Arab. P kimm, the sheath
(lit. cover)of the flowers of the palm ; the bud, cup,or calyx of a
flower. Theverbalforms denote the production of its spathes by
the palm. See Freytag. With thisagreesthe Accadian ^^^^
su-gur, which probably means covering, as it is also the chief
element in -^^^-^ Y~" su-gulla (?), ziqnatu, Sdrtu, beard, ha.r
(5 R. 42, 59a ; Sb I, I9b); cp. t] ^4<^4 P" ^T-YTTT *»«
iff/, " spathe of the tree," i.e., the palm ; or perhaps its head of foliage
As to artu, our context demandssomethingwhichresultsfrom
the calyx of a plant : " whose buds(or spathes) haveproducedno
blossom(shoot,or foliage)." Wemayperhapscomparewitharu,
artu,the term \ s hira, shootof a palm, which the Kitab an-Nahl
(B. Lagumina) statesto be a synonym of JK kafur, the spathe of
the palm. As the Accadian i$z,rod, staff, etc., alsodenotes to
come out,shoot forth(cp.^z | S^), shine(namdru),ourinter
pretationof blossom or shoot wouldseemto be sufficiently justified.
The character >J-^S^: may probably be analysed into Sid
(fromkid), Si + nag, thatis, by vowel - assimilation, Sinig;which
confirms the value nagfor the second element, as inferred from
the name of the character.
Ildaqqu = indaqqu = syjjuu-hindaquq, Lotus sativa (Ibn
Sina); lotus, melilote,sweettrefoil(Lane).
Qu, from the Accadian gu, may be the same as Syriac I^OO
SymphytonOfficinale; a plant called Qpyeat Mosul, where they
poundit and eat it with salt. See PayneSmith,s.v. ; and Low,
Aram.Pflanz.,No.273.
I transcribe *^\—_.<!sun-na; (1) because of the phonetic
supplementna, and (2) on the ground of <£2T sun, narta&u,a
ditchor watercourse ( = ratu).
It is hardly necessary to my purpose to recapitulate here the
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