There were formerly thought to be two species of this genus, the S. indicum, and the S. orientale, both of which were originally from India, and are now much cultivated in several parts of Africa, West Indies, and in the southern United States. That growing in the south is the S. indicum, and flowers in August. The latter species is now regarded as identical with the former. The parts used are the leaves and seeds. The seeds are rather small, sulphur-colored, sometimes very dark, and contain a large quantity of a sweetish, odorless oil, of a light-yellow color, mild to the taste, of specific gravity 0.9191, and which may be obtained by expression (see Oleum Sesami). It does not readily acquire rancidity, and forms an excellent substitute for olive oil. […] The leaves are ovate-oblong, narrowed at base, with margin irregularly toothed, or entire, the lower ones often having tridentate lobes or leaflets. They are smoothish, or pubescent, and strongly veined underneath. The fresh leaves contain a large amount of mucilage, which may be procured by macerating them in water and precipitating with alcohol.
One sentence omitted: it demeans the people it describes.