306 USEFUL PLANTS OF GUAM. 
Lau-hala (Hawaii). See Pandanus tectorius. 
Laumapapa (Samoa). The bird’s-nest fern, Neottopteris nidus. See under Ferns. 
Lauraceae. LAUREL FAMILY, 
This family is represented in Guam by Cassytha filiformis. 
Laureno (Panama). See Herpetica alata. 
Lausa’ato (Samoa). <Acrostichum aureum, See under Ferns. 
Lautalatalo (Samoa). See Crinum asiaticum. 
Lau tefe-ule (Samoa). See Achyranthes aspera. 
Lawns and lawn making. 
In Guam the best grass for lawns is the introduced Bermuda grass (Capriola dac- 
tylon). Another grass, Stenotaphrum subulatum, which is indigenous and grows 
either on the sandy seashore, on the edge of the forest, and even in the shade, is 
also good. It has creeping rootstocks and a prostrate creeping habit of growth, and 
never becomes coarse or hard. Both of these grasses are excellent for fodder and are 
especially useful for covering bare land and binding drift sand and river banks. 
They also successfully compete with most of the tropical weeds. They are easily 
propagated by cutting into small pieces the creeping rooting stems. 
The most expeditious method of preparing a lawn of Bermuda grass is to clear and 
level the plot of ground selected for the purpose, plow it up, or spade it, and prepare 
it as fora garden. Then spread over it a layer of wet earth, of the consistency of 
mortar, with which the chopped-up grass has been mixed. Each little joint will 
take root, and in a short time a lawn will be established. Throughout the greater 
part of the year there is sufficient rain to water the plot, but it is best to prepare it at 
the beginning of the rainy season. In drier climates the plot must be watered from 
time to time until the grass has established itself. Only a few tufts of Bermuda grass 
are necessary to cover a large area. It will grow either on low, moist, sandy soil 
near the sea or on the upland regions of the island. Once established it is hard to 
eradicate, and it is apt to become a pest in cultivated fields. In establishing a pas- 
ture the grass should be planted at intervals of 50 cm. in rows 1 meter apart. It 
spreads rapidly and in a short time will cover the entire surface. 
In Guam it is cut and fed to cattle as green forage. It can, however, be dried, if 
necessary, and made into excellent hay. 
Lawsonia alba. Same as Lawsonia inermis. 
Lawsonia inermis. HENNA, 
Family Lythraceae. 
Local NAMEs.—Cinamomo (Guam, Philippines); Chf-kiah-wah (China); Reseda 
(Central America); Jamaica mignonette (West Indies); Broad Egyptian 
privet (England) ; Henna (Persia); Khenna (Egypt); Al khanna (Arabic). 
A shrub bearing very fragrant flowers, with round branches, sometimes armed 
with spines, and opposite entire lanceolate leaves. Flowers rather small, white, rose- 
colored, or greenish; calyx-tube very short, limb with 4 ovate lobes; petals 4, obo- 
vate, wrinkled, inserted at the top of the calyx-tube; stamens usually 8, inserted in 
pairs between the petals, sometimes 4 only or 8 not paired; ovary free, 4-celled; 
style very long, stigma capitate; ovules many; capsule leathery, globose, breaking 
up irregularly, ultimately 1-celled; seeds many, angular, pyramidal, smooth, packed 
on a central placenta. 
Introduced into Guam on account of the fragrance of its flowers. It is readily 
propagated from cuttings, grows in the form of a bush sending up shoots, and is 
suitable for hedges. When kept clipped it is not unlike privet. Its odor at short 
range is rank and overpowering, but from a distance it is like that of mignonette. 
On the shores of Central America the land breezes frequently waft the odor out to 
sea. This species is the ‘sweet-smelling camphire’’ of Solomon. It is a native of 
western Asia, Egypt, and the African coasts of the Mediterranean, and now grows 
