OBL PHILIPPINE FIBER PLANTS 
are hairy, and from 8 to 15 centimeters in length. The fruits 
have five wings. 
This species is found in second-growth forests in Luzon. 
COLUMBIA MOLLIS Warb. KEDDENG. 
Local name: Keddéng (Ilocos Sur, Abra, Nueva Vizcaya). 
The bark of this tree is used for making rope. 
Columbia mollis is a tree reaching a height of about 18 meters 
and a diameter of about 40 centimeters. The leaves are alter- 
nate, hairy, rounded and somewhat oblique at the base, prom- 
inently pointed at the tip, from 8 to 20 centimeters in length, 
and with toothed margins. The fruits have two or three wings. 
This species occurs in Luzon. 
COLUMBIA SERRATIFOLIA (Cav.) Pers. ANILAU. 
Local names: Alindu (Camarines); anilau (Bataan, Laguna, Tayabay 
Camarines, Sorsogon, Mindoro, Masbate, Iloilo, Leyte, Surigao, Butuan, 
Cotabato, Zamboanga); bagarilau (Bataan); banilad (Laguna); bamnlot 
(lloilo); bainzid (Mindoro); hanagdéng (Palawan); ladho (Cagayan) ; 
laiadsin (Marinduque) ; mamauéd (Rizal). 
Judging from Mendiola’s figures, the bast is very weak. A 
red dye is obtained from the bark. 
Columbia serratifolia is a small tree, 3 to 10 meters high. 
The branches and leaves are hairy. The leaves are 10 to 20 
centimeters in length, pointed, with a very oblique base, and 
toothed margins. The flowers are 6 to 7 millimeters long, with 
pink and yellowish or reddish petals, and borne in panicles. 
The fruits are about 1 centimeter long and with three or four 
wings. 
This species is common in second-growth forests throughout 
the Philippines. 
Genus CORCHORUS 
CORCHORUS CAPSULARIS L. PASAU NA BILOG. 
Local names: Panigbin, sumpa (Samar); pdasau na bilog (Tag.). 
For a discussion of the fiber of this plant see Corchorus 
olitorius. 
Corchorus capsularis is an erect, branched, annual herb 1 
to 2 meters in height. The stems are usually purplish. The 
leaves are alternate, the apex pointed, the base rounded with 
a tail-like projection on each side of the midrib, the margins 
toothed. The flowers occur in small groups in the axils of 
the leaves and are about 4 millimeters long. The petals are 
yellow and the sepals often purplish. The fruit is a somewhat 
rounded capsule, about a centimeter in diameter and with longi- 
tudinal ridges. 
