366 PHILIPPINE FIBER PLANTS 
cient; Fray Marcos de Lisboa, author of “Vocabulario de la 
Lengua Bicol’ written about 1590-1620, says: “YRAO. A 
plant that grows on trees and sends out a sort of cord, which 
is yellow and is used for tying and for making straw hats.” 
The stalks are cut when they are very old and partially yellow. 
The stalk of Dendrobium crumenatum is 60 centimeters or 
more in length and, for a distance of about 20 centimeters from 
the base, is bulbous and fluted. The flowers are white with 
yellow markings and are very fragrant. 
This orchid is common and widely distributed in the Philip- 
pines, and is frequently cultivated for ornamental purposes. 
Genus VANILLA 
VANILLA OVALIS Blanco. 
Vanilla ovalis is a vine reaching a great height, and is locally 
abundant in some parts of central Luzon. The stems give some 
promise of yielding fibrous products of value in making baskets 
and similar articles. 
Family ULMACEAE 
Genus TREMA 
TREMA ORIENTALIS Blume. ANABIONG. 
Local names: Aganding (Cagayan); alindagén (Moro); anabidng (Ta- 
galog and Bisaya); anagdiing, hanagding, tatagtag (Guimaras Island) ; 
anagum (Bikol); anariéng (Batanes Islands); anarong (Zambales) ; 
arandon, lamai (Abra); balibago, lagod, dalunot, hanadiong (Tagalog) ; 
dalinit, malasikongdoron, hinlalaong (Pampanga); hagod (Laguna, Ta- 
yabas) ; hanadgoéng (Samar, Camarines) ; hanagdong (Tayabas) ; hinagding 
(Bisaya) ; hubulos (Bontoc) ; inangdén (Mindoro) ; indai luging (Lanao) ; 
malarirung (I[gorot and Tagalog); nagdén (Occidental Negros); mala- 
rurang (Bataan); pangarandongen (Benguet, Pangasinan). 
The dry rope made from the bast of Trema orientalis was 
the weakest of all the ropes tested by King. However, when 
wet its resistance was nearly doubled. The tensile strength 
of dry rope was only 134 kilos per square centimeter. Owing 
to its poor qualities it is seldom used. This species furnishes 
a soft, light-colored wood, in great demand for the manufacture 
of wooden shoes (zuecos). 
Trema orientalis is a small tree, 5 to 8 meters in height, with 
a very open crown. The leaves are 5 to 8 centimeters long, 
alternate, hairy, the base heart-shaped, the apex rounded, the 
margins toothed. The flowers are numerous in the axils of 
the leaves, white, and about 3 millimeters long. The fruits 
are ovoid drupes about 3.5 millimeters long. 
This tree is a very frequent invader of open ground and in 
some places, where the virgin forest has been removed, forms 
