[1891] The peduncle supporting the plume of medial petals is clearly seen only when the flower opens first. The plumed Hibiscus is found in florists’ catalogues described as “double”.
[1892] This Anglo-Indians call also rose-bay. A Persian name appears to be zahr-giyāh, poison-grass, which makes it the more probable that the doubtful passage in the previous description of the jāsūn belongs to the rod-like oleander, known as the poison-grass. The oleander is common in river-beds over much country known to Bābur, outside India.
[1893] Roxburgh gives a full and interesting account of this tree.
[1894] Here the Elph. Codex, only, has the (seeming) note, “An ‘Arab calls it kāẕī” (or kāwī). This fills out Steingass’ part-explanation of kāwī, “the blossom of the fragrant palm-tree, armāt̤” (p. 1010), and of armāt̤, “a kind of date-tree with a fragrant blossom” (p. 39), by making armāt̤ and kāwī seem to be the Pandanus and its flower.
[1895] Calamus scriptorius (Vullers ii, 607. H. B.). Abū’l-faẓl compares the leaves to jawārī, the great millet (Forbes); Blochmann (A. A. p. 83) translates jawārī by maize (juwārā, Forbes).
[1896] T. aīrkāk-qūmūsh, a name Scully enters unexplained. Under qūmūsh (reed) he enters Arundo madagascarensis; Bābur’s comparison will be with some Transoxanian Arundo or Calamus, presumably.
[1897] Champa seems to have been Bābur’s word (Elph. and Ḥai. MSS.), but is the (B.) name for Michelia champaka; the Pers. translation corrects it by (B.) chambelī, (yāsman, jasmine).
[1898] Here, “outside India” will be meant, where Hindū rules do not prevail.
[1899] Hind aīlārī-nīng ibtidā-sī hilāl aīlār-nīng istiqbāl-dīn dūr. The use here of istiqbāl, welcome, attracts attention; does it allude to the universal welcome of lighter nights? or is it reminiscent of Muḥammadan welcome to the Moon’s crescent in Shawwāl?
[1900] For an exact statement of the intercalary months vide Cunningham’s Indian Eras, p. 91. In my next sentence (supra) the parenthesis-marks indicate blanks left on the page of the Ḥai. MS. as though waiting for information. These and other similar blanks make for the opinion that the Ḥai. Codex is a direct copy of Bābur’s draft manuscript.