DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. . 357 
leaflets; stipules spinose, the spines minute, pointing upward; leaflets approximate, 
oblique, very unequal-sided, ovate-oblong, rigidly subcoriaceous, obtuse, 12 mm, long; 
petiole shorter than the leaflets; flowers sessile in heads; heads dense, with short 
peduncles, on elongated branches; calyx 5-parted, funnel-shaped, gray-downy, very 
small; corolla funnel-shaped, the petals united below the middle; stamens mona- 
delphous, much exserted; style filiform; stigma minute, capitate; pod irregularly 
swollen and curled at the end, 10 to 12.5 em. long by 12 mm, wide, 6 to 8-seeded, 
both sutures indented between the seeds, which are half embedded in the aril. 
In many tropical countries the pulp of the pod is eaten by the poorer classes, 
and the pods are good fodder for animals. The tree, which has now spread all 
over the island of Guam, was probably introduced for the sake of its bark, which 
contains 25 per cent of tannin. In Mexico it is one of the principal sources of tan 
bark. Though widely cultivated in India, it is apparently not used in that country 
for tanning, as no mention is made of it asa tan bark in Watt’s Dictionary of the 
Economic Products of India. Its wood is used in India for making carts, paneling 
of doors, and packing boxes. In Guam it is used only for fuel. 
REFERENCES: 
Pithecolobium dulce (Roxb.) Benth, Hook. Lond. Journ. Bot, 3: 199, 1844. 
Mimosa dulcis Roxb. Pl. Corom, 1: 67, t. 99. 1795. 
Pithecolobium saman. RAIN TREE. 
Loca, NAmes.—Monkey-pod (Hawaiian Islands); Zamang (Venezuela). 
A handsome tree with spreading branches and bipinnate leaves. Pinnee 2 to 6 
pairs; leaflets 2 to 7 pairs, obliquely ovate or obovate-oblong; corolla yellowish; 
stamens light crimson; flowers growing in globose clusters like crimson pompons. 
Its pods contain a swectish pulp and are relished by cattle and horses. In Honolulu 
it is one of the favorite shade trees. A number of plants obtained from Mr. David 
Haughs were taken by me from Honolulu and planted in Guam. When I left the 
island they were in a thriving condition. 
REFERENCES: 
Pithecolobium saman (Jaeq.) Benth. Hook, Lond, Journ. Bot. 3: 216. 1844. 
Mimosa saman Jacq. Fragm. 15. &. 9. 1800-1809 (ex Ind. Kew.). 
Inga saman Willd. Sp. Pl. 4: 1024. 1805, 
Plantain. See Musa paradisiaca. 
Plantain-leaf Fern. See Antrophyum plantaginenm under Ferns. 
Pldtano (Spanish). See Musa paradisiaca. 
Platitos ((iuam, Philippines). 
An ornamental shrub. See Nothopanas cochleatum., 
Plum, seaside. See Nimenia americana. 
Poaceae. See Grasses. 
Podpod (Guam). See Piper sp. 
Pogonia flabelliformis. Same as Nervilia aragoana. 
Pogonia nervilia. See Nervilia aragoana. 
Poinciana regia. See Delonix regia. 
Poinciana pulcherrima. FLOWER-FENCE. 
Family Caesalpiniaceae. 
Local NAMES.—Caballero (Guam); Clavelina (Porto Rico); Gallito (Panama) ; 
Flor de Camaron, Chacalxochitl (Mexico); Peacock flower (India, Ceylon) ; 
Barbadoes Pride (West Indies). 
A shrub 2.5 to 3 meters high, often used as a hedge plant, with terminal racemes 
of showy orange and crimson flowers. Branches with a few scattered prickles; 
a See Reichel, Gerbstoffrinde aus Saipan, Tropenpflanzer, vol. 8, p. 687, 1904. 
