T
Taba, Nicotiana tabacum, Linn. (Solanaceæ). Tobacco. Cultivated in most parts of N. Nigeria in alluvial soil; used for smoking and in the form of powder for chewing and as snuff. Flowers rubbed on the teeth while chewing certain varieties of kola nut, to give a red colour; fure = a flower, when unqualified generally means tobacco flowers.
taḅa ni ka samu, a name applied to several trees affording useful products; e.g. Ficus Vogelii, Miq. of which the latex forms a variety of rubber. cf. kurnan nasara, and zogalagandi.
tabar angulu, tabar kura, a species of fungus; vide tumukun suri.
tabarman zomo, vide takalmin zomo.
tafarnuwa, Allium sativum, Linn. (Liliaceæ). Garlic. Cultivated like the onion; vide albasa, from which it differs in having flat leaves (hollow or fistular in the onion), and the bulb divided into several lesser bulblets. Only used as a medicine, commonly for fevers and stomach complaints.
tafasa, Cassia tora, Linn. (Leguminosæ). An undershrub of the senna tribe with yellow flowers; leaves used in soup and as a mild laxative.
tafashia, Sarcocephalus Russegeri, Kotschy (Rubiaceæ). A shrub with large balls of white flowers and a red edible fruit; bark and root used medicinally; a common “Chew-stick.”
tafo ka sha mamarka, Schizoglossum sp. nr. S. Petherickianum, Oliv. (Asclepiadeæ). A small herb with umbels of white flowers and milky juice. (Etym. “come and take the breast;” probably used for others of the same Natural Order, the “milkweed” family; vide tatarida, saniya, and rojiya.)
taga rana, vide idon zakara.
takalmin zomo (Kano, Sok., &c.), Cadalvena Dalzielii, C. H. Wright (Scitamineæ). A low stemless herb of the ginger family, with 4 flat succulent leaves and yellow flowers. Syn. tabarman zomo (Zaria), and kunnen zomo.
takaluwa, a synonym for daddawa, q.v.
takanḍa, Sorghum vulgare, var. saccharatum (Gramineæ). One of the species of sugar-cane; grown like Guinea Corn to which it is botanically akin. cf. rake.
takanḍar giwa (Kats. Sok. and Zanf.), Hannoa undulata, Planch. (Simarubeæ). A tree with pinnate leaves, white fragrant blossoms and black plum-like fruit. Syn. namijin gwabsa (Kontagora, &c.). N.B. In many districts the name is applied to the tree Cussonia nigerica, Hutch. or gwabsa, q.v. cf. also raken giwa.
takeyi, vide under kuḅewa.
talaki or talakin Yarubawa, Lonchocarpus cyanescens, Benth. (Leguminosæ). “West African Indigo.” “Yoruba Wild Indigo.” A woody climber. The indigo dye prepared from the leaves, better than that from baba, is imported into N. Nigeria (e.g. to Sokoto from Illorin), and dyeing is done in pots not in pits. vide also shunin biri.
taliya, a sort of macaroni made from flour of alkama, q.v. (Etym. probably from Italy).
tamangaji, vide under gero.
tamaseki, vide under baba.
tamba, Eleusine corocana, Gaertn. (Gramineæ). A grass about 2 feet high, wild and cultivated as a kind of millet; flowering head with many crowded rays, “Kurakan”—Ceylon; “Marua” or “Ragi” Millet—India.
tambari, a herb;?Grangea maderaspatana, Poir. (Compositæ). A weed with small solid heads of yellow flowers and divided leaves.
tamna geḍa, a small var. of water-melon; vide under guna.
tamraro or tauraro, Anthericum sp. (Liliaceæ). A small liliaceous plant with yellowish stems and white flowers opening in the evening; somewhat resembling “Star of Bethlehem.” (Etym. “star.”). In Zanfara used also for Cyanotis cæspitosa, Kotschy. et Peyr. (Commelynaceæ), a small stemless plant with azure blue flowers (and probably other species).
tandara, vide idon zakara.
tankwa (Sok.), red pepper; vide barkono.
tantaroba, Indigofera diphylla, Vent. (Leguminosæ). A low spreading herb with 2-foliate leaves and pink flowers; used medicinally.
tantsiya, vide kwankwani.
taramniya, Combretum verticillatum, Eng. and Diels, and several other species (Combretaceæ). A tree with white spikes of flowers and 4-winged fruit; a source of gum. (C. geitonophyllum, Diels, and others).
tara yaya, vide giginyar biri.
tarin gida (Sok., &c.), Glossonema nubicum, Decne. (Asclepiadeæ). A low branched herb of fields and waste places in the north, with milky juice and follicles covered with soft prickles. Syn. tatarida. (Etym. of both names from the pods crowded to bursting with silky seeds). Sometimes called tafo ka sha mama, q.v. Eaten by goats and capable of being used as a vegetable.
tarnekuwa, a var. of gero, q.v.
taru, Combretum herbaceum, Don. (Combretaceæ). A low undershrub with 4-winged fruit and hard root (hence also called kariye galma, q.v., or “break hoe”).
tasshi, vide under gawo.
tataba (Sok.). Syn. mashayi, q.v.
tatarida, vide tarin gida.
tatasai, large chillie peppers; vide under barkono.
taura, Detarium senegalense, Gmel. (Leguminosæ). A small tree with white flowers and flattened oval fruit; the latter is used with that of kanya and ḍinya to make a sort of molasses (maḍi).
tawatsa or tawassa, Entada sudanica, Schweinf. (Leguminosæ); a common tree of the acacia type with white spikes of flowers and curious jointed and embossed pods; it yields an inferior gum; fibre is got from the root-bark; vide yawa and meḍi.
tazargadi, a native medicine; the pounded fragrant leaves of a plant (Artemisia sp.?); brought by Arabs.
terkon ḅera, vide tsatsarar ḅera.
tinya or tunya (Kano), tumniya (Sok. and Zanf.), Euphorbia unispina, N. E. Brown. a cactus-like shrub, with an acrid milky juice; a common accessory ingredient of arrow-poison. (E. Poissoni, Pax, and perhaps other species are included).
tofa or toha, Imperata arundinacea, Cyrill (Gramineæ). A stiff-leaved grass with a white cottony flower-spike, growing up in fields, &c. after harvest or burning, especially in damp situations; used for thatch and stuffing cushions.
zakaran tofa = the sharp young shoots which pierce the heel.
tofo or toho, the young leaf-buds or sprouting of any tree or grass. Syn. labaye. cf. fuda.
toshshi or twashshi, vide under barkono.
toton masara, vide under masara.
tozalin barewa (Katagum), Vernonia pauciflora, Less. (Compositæ); a field-herb with blue thistle-like flowers.
tozalin kura, vide sabulun mata.
tsa or tswa (Sok.), Fluggea microcarpa, Blume (Euphorbiaceæ). A slender-branched small-leaved shrub with white berries; the tough stems are used for making wicker traps, native beds, &c. (hence also called itchen gado); occasionally planted near houses. vide faskara giwa.
tsabre or tsaure, Cymbopogon giganteum, Stapf (Gramineæ); a tall fragrant grass, used for zana, screens, &c.; (sometimes confused with the narrow-leaved grass nobe, q.v.).
tsada or tswada (Sok.), Ximenia americana, Linn. (Olacineæ); a shrub with small yellow plum-like fruit of acid taste.
tsadar Lamarudu or tsadar Masar, Spondias lutea, Linn. (Anacardiaceæ); “Hog Plum;” “Yellow Spanish” or “Jamaica Plum.” A tree with alternate pinnate leaves, warty bark and a yellow drupaceous fruit with acid aromatic taste. (Benué region and the south. Lamarudu was a historic king in the time of the Prophet).
tsaido or tsidau (Kano, &c.), tsaida (Sok.), Tribulus terrestris, Linn. (Zygophylleæ). “Caltrop;” (cf. dayi). A prostrate yellow-flowered weed with a strongly-spined fruit that injures the foot; a common pest of paths and waste places. (Etym. probably = “stop”).
tsakara, Anchomanes Dalzielli, N. E. Brown, and other allied species (Aroideæ); an aroid with a large much divided leaf on a tall prickly stem; the tuber is eaten in scarcity after prolonged boiling to remove the acridity. cf. also hansar gada?
tsamiya, Tamarindus indica, Linn. (Leguminosæ). Tamarind Tree. A large tree with pinnate leaves and yellowish or red-striped flowers; the acid pulp of the pods is used in various ways as food and drink and as a laxative medicine. (The tree is the host of one of the species of wild silkworm—Anaphe sp. also called tsamiya). ḍan garraza (Kano), tun jamjam? (East Hausa) = flowers of tsamiya eaten fresh and made up into comestibles.
tsamiyar makiyaya, ts. mahalba, or ts. ḳassa, Nelsonia campestris, R. Br. (Acanthaceæ); a soft-leaved prostrate weed with slightly acid leaves and close spikes of small pink flowers.
tsana, an edible cucumber-shaped var. of the bottle-gourd? vide under duma.
tsarariya, a var. of the common country bean, wake, q.v.
tsarkiyar kusu, Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, Vahl. (Verbenaceæ). “Devil’s coach-whip.” A weed with a long narrow spike of pale blue flowers; used medicinally. Syn. wutsiyar kusu (or w. ḅera), and sometimes wutsiyar ḳadangare.
tsarkiyar zomo (Sok.). Dub Grass, vide kiri kiri.
tsatsagi, vide jirga.
tsatsarar ḅera, or terkon ḅera, Asparagus Pauli-Guilelmi, Solms. and Laub., A. africanus, Lam. and other spp. (Liliaceæ). A straggling half-climbing prickly plant with graceful fronds and very narrow leaves; tough stems used to make snares and traps for small animals. (Etym. tsatsara, a basket-like fish trap). Syn. ḳayar ḳadangare, q.v. and masun ḳadangare. cf. also karangiyar kusu.
tsatsarar kura, Vitis quadrangularis, Linn.; vide ḍaḍori.
tsaure, vide tsabre.
tsawa, vide under bagayi.
tsibiri kinkini, Ampelocissus Grantii, Planch. (Ampelidæ); a vine with edible berries and a thickened root, hence also called rogon daji, q.v. Used medicinally. Syn. farun makiyaya. Other species of Cissus and Ampelocissus are included, e.g. the “Forest Grape,” A. Bakeri, Planch.
tsibra or tsura (Sok.), Randia nilotica, Stapf (Rubiaceæ); an erect thorny shrub or small tree. Syn. barbaji (East Hausa).
tsidau, vide tsaido.
tsidaun kare, Aneilema beniniensis, Kunth. A. Schweinfurthii, C. B. Clarke, and other species of Commelynaceæ; weeds with delicate blue flowers and tufted fibrous roots. cf. kariye galma.
tsidufu, small hot chillie peppers; vide under barkono.
tsikar daji (Sok.), or tsikar dawa; also kibiyar daji Cymbopogon diplandrum, Hack. var. a tall grass covering large areas of uncultivated ground; used for thatch, &c. (Etym. from the recurved pointed flowering spikes). Syn. tuma da gobara, q.v. (Other tall species of the same genus are probably included).
tsikar gida or tsikar sabra (ts. saura) (Sok.), Leonotis pallida, Benth. (Labiatæ); a tall weed better known as kain mutum or kain ḅarawo, q.v.
tsintsiya, 1. Panicum subalbidulum, Kunth. (Gramineæ). A grass 3 to 4 feet high; used for thatching and for brooms, and planted as a field boundary.
2. Eragrostis sp. (?E. biformis, Kunth.). A grass of wet places, used for thatch; the species commonly sold for brooms.
tsira faḳo, Stylosanthes erecta, Beauv. (Leguminosæ). A herb with fragrant viscid leaves and small yellow flowers. (Etym. from growing up on hard bare areas).
tsiyayi = ḳeḳasheshe; vide under rama.
tsu or farin tsu, Pavonia hirsuta, Guill. et Perr. (Malvaceæ). A shrub with broad harshly hairy leaves and large yellow flowers with purple centre. (Urena lobata, Linn. Malvaceæ, is sometimes distinguished as jan tsu; vide ramaniya).
tsuku or tsuwuku (Kano), Biophytum sensitivum, DC. (or Oxalis sensitiva, Geraniaceæ); a small pinnate-leaved herb with the habit of a tiny palm and salmon-pink flowers; as in the “Sensitive Plant” the leaves contract when touched. (Popular names are mata gara ḳafafunki, rufe rumbu, ka buḍi ka noḳe, &c. (noḳewa = contracting or withdrawing).
tsura, vide tsibra.
tsuwawun biri, Vitis cornifolia, Bak. (Ampelideæ), an erect plant of the vine family, with ovoid pointed berries; root medicinal. Syn.?rigyar biri.
tsuwawun zaki (Sok. Kats. and Zanf.), Cucumis Figarei, Del. (Cucurbitaceæ). A wild ground trailer of the gourd family with ovoid slightly prickly fruit. Syn. maḳaimi (Katagum), kashin gwanki, gunar kura; gwolon zaki (East Hausa). Used medicinally and as a medicinal charm for chickens.
tswa, vide tsa.
tswada, vide tsada.
tubani, a food prepared from beans; vide under wake.
tubanin dawaki, Peristrophe bicalyculata, Nees. (Acanthaceæ). An erect annual with pink flowers; can be used as fodder.
tuḍi, vide under faru.
tugandi, large mild chillies; vide under barkono.
tuji or chiyawar tuji, Eleusine indica, Gaertn. (Gramineæ). A coarse tufted grass with digitate flower-spikes; resembling but smaller than tamba, q.v. a good fodder and capable of being used as food.
tukurra (Sok.), Melochia corchorifolia, Linn. (Malvaceæ). An erect plant of wet places; 2 to 4 feet high; stems used for tanka; bark used for cordage, and leaves sometimes used in soup.
tukuruwa, Raphia vinifera, Pal. Beauv. (Palmeæ). “Bamboo Palm.” “Wine Palm.” Stems used for roofing, canoe-poles, &c. (= gongola; gwangwala, the Nupé name for this palm); leaf for various plaited articles (e.g. kabido, q.v. a kind of waterproof hood; and kororo, cowrie bags); bami or palm-wine is usually made from this species in N. Nigeria. vide also murli, gangame, &c.; a mealy layer between the husk and the hard nut is eaten in Munchi as a food and medicine, &c.
tuma da gobara (Sok. and Zanf.), Cymbopogon diplandrum, Hack. var. A tall grass with reflexed flower-spikes, very abundant in the bush; used for thatch. (Etym. from the crackling and jerking of the dry spikes when burnt). Syn. tsikar daji, q.v.
tumbin jaki, Paspalum scorbiculatum, Linn. (Gramineæ); a wild grass used in some districts as a cereal; a sort of “hungry rice” or “bastard millet.” (Etym. probably from observed unwholesome effects).
tumfafiya, Calotropis procera, R. Br. (Asclepiadeæ). “Dead Sea” or “Sodom Apple.” (Arab. ashur, and closely related to the Indian mudar or ak—Calotropis gigantea). A large “Milkweed,” a common shrub of peculiar appearance with broad hoary-white leaves and milky juice, umbels of pink and purplish flowers and bladdery capsular fruit; only found near habitations and used in many ways, medicinally, for cordage, &c.
tumkiya, a grass; (applied loosely to several plants with white flowers or pale foliage). cf. Ba-Fillatani, and karani.
tumkiyar rafi (Sok., &c.), Heliotropium ovalifolium, Forsk. (Boragineæ). A coarse weed with small white flowers; used medicinally.
tumniya, vide tinya.
tumu, ears of early ripening gero or maiwa and other cereals excluding maize, eaten roasted (not boiled, &c.).
tumuku, Coleus dysentericus, Baker (Labiatæ). A cultivated annual with tuberous potato-like root.
tumukun biri, Syncolostemon ocymoides, Sch. et Thon. (Labiatæ). A wild plant very similar to the above, with small tubers. Syn.?sankwo (Kano).
tumukun suri, Potaxon pistillaris, Fr. An erect club-shaped fungus with brown dusty spores as in the puff-ball, commonly found on ant-hills. Synonyms numerous, e.g. muruchin jibba or m. jibji (Kano), wutar barewa (the Beri Beri equivalent, from the smoke-like cloud of spore-dust when burst), tabar angulu, tabar kura, geron kantu.
tumun shalla, vide shalla.
tuna (often pronounced tunam or tunas), Pseudocedrela Kotschyi, Harms. (Meliaceæ). A tree with undulate-edged leaves like the oak; a good timber; bark used medicinally.
tun jamjam (?Hausa), flowers of the tamarind-tree; vide under tsamiya.
turgunuwa, vide lalu.
turri, a dye; generally a synonym for gangamu or turmeric, q.v.
tursuje (Ful.), Hæmatostaphis Barteri, Hook. f. (Anacardiaceæ). A tree with pendulous racemes of purple plum-like edible fruit; bark used medicinally. “Blood Plum.”
tururubi, Lasiosyphon Kraussii, Meisn. (Thymeleæ). A small erect herb with yellow heads of flowers and a thickened root; leaf and root are very poisonous.
turu turu, vide under ḍorowa.
tutar yan sariki, vide sutura.
tutubidi, vide babar more.
tuwon biri, vide under doya.
tuwon ḅaure, vide under alkama.
twashshi, vide under barkono.