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A plant often erroneously spoken of as a kind of rattan 

 is Flagellaria indica, commonly known as "hoag." This 

 plant is very distinct, botanically, from rattan, though it 

 is often used like the latter. 



Hoag is a vine, with the lower part of the stem as thick 

 as a man's thumb. Spines are absent. The leaves are 

 lanceolate in form, without petioles, and ensheath the stem 

 as do blades of grass. The tips end in coiled tendrils. 

 The flowers are sessile and clustered in the form of a 

 panicle. The fruit is red. 



DISTRffiUTION. 



The plant is widely distributed throughout the Philip- 

 pines and common in the forest and along streams. 



PREPARATION. 



Prepared the same way as rattan. 



USES. 



Hoag is used for tying purposes. Reports say that it 

 can be used for rims of baskets and that it may be used 

 for weavers and spokes where better materials are not 

 available. 



TEGETABIiE: SPONGE. 



(Luffa cylindrica.) 



Vegetable sponge (E.) ; kabatiti (II.) ; loofah (E.) ; patola (T., Vis.) ; 

 tabongas (Pampanga, Pangasinan) ; tabubuk (Bulacan, Tarlac). 



The stem of this vine bears tendrils and is distinctly five- 

 sided. The leaves are rough to the touch, shallowly 5 to 

 7 angled or lobed, and about 10 to 20 cm. in diameter. The 

 flowers are yellow. The fruit of the cultivated vine is in 

 appearance like a long cucumber, at first fleshy but finally 

 becoming stringy ; that of the wild variety is always fibrous. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



The vine is commonly cultivated for its fruit and also 

 found growing wild near streams and around trees and 

 hedges throughout the Philippines. 



