If I recollect, it is something like the barilla-plant.
"Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 1846"
James Richardson
The barilla plant is also very common; it is collected and burnt, and the ashes exported in considerable quantities.
"Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 1846"
James Richardson
We procured, in Pekin, a sort of barilla with which and apricot oil we manufactured a sufficient quantity of this article to wash our linen, which, however, we were under the necessity of getting done by our own servants.
"Travels in China, Containing Descriptions, Observations, and Comparisons, Made and Collected in the Course of a Short Residence at the Imperial Palace of Yuen-Min-Yuen, and on a Subsequent Journey through the Country from Pekin to Canton"
John Barrow