178 USEFUL PLANTS OF GUAM. 



saiiif way as the Irish moss <>r carrageen {('Jiondrun rrisimn). The natives conk it 

 with milk or witli water, a(l(Hn<; to it tiic juice of fruits to jrive it an agreeable 

 ihivor, and then cool it in molds. In Ceylon it is an article of commerce and is one 

 of the seaweeds called " agar-agar." It is also known commercially as Ceylon moss. 



Cnulerpa ddvifcra is used as a contliment in the same way as the pepper (hilse of 

 Si'i'tland {jMurenria pinnatifida) . It is sometimes eaten with vinegar as a salad, 

 lioth of these seaweeds are of wide distribution. In Samoa also Canlerpa cUirifern, 

 callcil " limn fnafua," is a common article of diet. It is also used by the natives of 

 many other Pacific islands. It is said to be the favorite food of sea turtles. In India 

 and Ceylon Gracilaria ronferroidex is one of the seaweeds used medicinally, especially 

 for jiectoral affections. In Tasmania it is used for making jelly, and is ranked in 

 nutritive value with Chundrutt crispiis." 



In Hawaii many seaweeds are used as articles of food. The favorite of the' 

 Ilawaiians is the limu-lipoa {Dictyopteris plagiogramma Montague). This is even 

 cclcbnit(>d in the songs of the natives, who describe the breath of their maidens as 

 perfumed with the limu-lipoa, though to a novice the odor of this alga is anything 

 but agreeable. 



Gracilaria confermides and Gracilaria lichenoides (L. ) J. Ag. are of wide distributiqn 

 in the Pacific and Indian oceans. They belong to the Rhodophyceae, or red algaj, 

 which include, among other species growing on the shores of Cuam, Acanthophora 

 orientalis J. Ag., and Corallopsis salicornia Grev. {Sphaerococcus salicornia C. Ag. ). 

 Among the Corallinaceae occurs MasiopJiora lamourouxii (Dene.) Harv. (described 

 by Agardh as Zonaria rosea), the typical form of which was collected in Guam by 

 Gaudichaud, and the variety mctcroearpd Montr, by Dumont d'Urville. 



Algse are also found on the surface and in the rivers of the island. In the rainy 

 season (August and September) the ground is covered in places with dark-green 

 jelly-like masses of Xostoc co)ii)nnne Ag. and Bracliylrichia quoyi Born. & Flah. In 

 the Agana River Gaudichaud collected Chara Jihrom Ag. and Conferva funicular is Ag., 

 and in the Pago River Tliarea guadichaudii Ag., a ilelicate plant belonging to the 

 Rhodophyceae. 



In the Agana River, near its mouth, where the water becomes brackish, occur the 

 green, ulva-like Enteromorpha clathrata (Roth.) Ag. and E. compressa (L. ) Grev. 

 These also grow on the sea beach. Other green algse growing in the sea are 

 Rhizoclininn tortuosum fustigialmn Ag., allied to Cladophora, L'anlerpa clavifera, 

 already mentioned as a favorite condiment of the South Sea Islanders, Canlerpa 

 jihunaris (Forsk. ) Ag. and Catderpa freycinetii Ag. The latter have creeping stems 

 resembling those of flowering plants in general appearance, with colorless rhizoids 

 and branched fronds abounding in chlorophyl. One of the most interesting and 

 graceful species is the widely spread Bryopsis phuaosa Grev., the minute thallus of 

 which, though branching like a feather, consists of a single cell. Its branches sub- 

 divide into miniature leaf-like processes, and are finally separated from the original 

 cell by transverse walls. The gametes, by means of which it is reproduce<l, ])oth 

 male and female, are provided with movable cilia. Of a very different habit is 

 Halimeda jyapyracea. intricata Ag. , whicli resembles a miniature cactus (Opuntia\ 

 with broad flattened joints. Growing on the coral reef is the common " peacock's 

 tail," Padina paronia (L.), a brown alga with thin, papery, fan-shaped fronds marked 

 by concentric zones; and with it Freycinet collected a second species, Padina com- 

 mersonii Bory., which also occurs on the shores of Japan and of Florida. 



Associated with the algae are several flowering plants, including Potamngeton nataiis 

 and P. zizii, growing in the Agana River; Halophila nndis, growing in brackish 

 marshes; and the grass-like JIalodule uninervi^, like a miniature Zostera, growing in 

 the sea. 



« Maiden, Useful Plants Australia, p, 33, 1889. 



