214 USEFUL PLANTS OF GUAM. 



Capsicum annuum grossum. Bell i-kppku. 



Local .\.\.Mh>. — Doiii (<;iiani); Cliilc ancho (Mexico); Chile fie Castilla (Pliili]i- 



pines). 



This plant has long been cultivated in Guam. Its flesh is not pungeut, and the 



natives frecpiently prepare it for the tal)le by. stuffing it witli minced meat and then 



cooking it. It grows here almost like a shnil) to the height of 90 cm., and bears 



prohticall) . I'luit oMong or truncate, about 10 cm. long by -1 cm. in diameter, often 



jobed and usually w itli a basal depression. Cultivated in every garden on the island. 



IvKKKKK.NTES: 



Cupsicutn (innunm grossum (L. ) Sendt. IMarf. Fl. I)ras. 10: 147. 1S46. 

 Caiisinivi (jroxftrmi L. Mant. 1:47. 1767. 



Capsicum baccatum. Same as Capsicum frutescens haccatum; see under Capsicum 



frutescens. 

 Capsicum frutescens. Sprn pepper. Cavexxe pepper. 



Local na.mks. — Doni (Ciuam); .\ji (Spanish). 

 A shnibl)y })erennial, 90 to 180 cm. high, with prominently angled or somewhat 

 channeled stem ami branches; leaves broadly ovate, acuminate; peduncles slender, 

 often in pairs, iisually longer than the fruit; calyx cup-shaped, embracing the base of 

 the fruit; fruit red, obtuse or oblong-acuminate, verj' acrid. It is possible that the 

 original form from which this plant has developed through cultivation is that known 

 as Capsicum minimum Roxb., to which, according to Engler, the allied varieties revert 

 when left to themselves. The bird pepper {Capxicnm frutescens haccatum) has round 

 or ovate fruit about 6 mm. in diameter. In the Philippines it is called " ch'ileng 

 bundok." 



References: 



f'lipxicuin frutescens L. Sp. PI. 1: 189. 1753. 



Capsicum grossum. Same as Capsicum an)iuuin grossum. 



Capulao ( Philippines). See Herpetica ulata. 



Carambola. See Averrhoa carambola. 



Carapa moluccensis. Same as Xylocarpus granatum. 



Cardiospermum halicacabum. Balloon vine. 



Family Sapindaceae. 



Local names. — Farolitos, Bombillas (Spanish). 

 A climbing herb, with wiry stem and branches, and alternate biternate leaves; leaf- 

 lets coarsely dentate; flowers irregular, polygamo-dioecious, in axillary racemes, 

 white, very small; lowest pair of pedicels developed into spiral tendrils; sepals 4, 

 concave, the two outer ones small; i)etals4, in pairs, the 2 greater lateral ones usually 

 adhering to the sepals; stamens 8, excentric; ovary 3-celled; style short, trifid; 

 ovules solitary ; fruit an inflated, broadly pear-shaped capsule. 



This j)lant is widely distributed throughout the Tropics. Its root given in decoc- 

 tion is said to be aperient. On the Malabar coast the leaves are administered in 

 pulmonary complaints. In the Moluccas the leaves are cooked as a vegetable. 

 It was collected by Gaudichaud on the island of Rota. 



Rekekexces: 



Cdrdiosjirrmum halicacabum L. Sp. PI. 1: 366. 1753. 

 Carex densiflora. Sedge. 



Family Cyperaceae. 

 A sedge with numerous dense, lanceolate spikelets, arranged in a branching, 

 bracted spike; spikelets androgynous, staminate above, i)istillate below; scales tipped 

 with a bristle, the female nearly round, the male ovate-lanceolate, bristles rough; 

 ovary inclosed in an oblong, compressed, striate perigynium, contracted at the top, 

 with a small bidentate opening through which protrudes the 2-cleft style; perigyn- 



