21)4 USEFUL I'LANTS oF OUAM. 



noddin;:, in lux axillary paniiK's f^hort'jr tliaii tlu' loaves; sepals 5, distinct, ovate, 

 ai'iite. glabrous; petals larkintr; stamens gcnrraliy S, Hlanients very short, inserted 

 ont.sidedisk; anthers oblong-linear, very large; disk very small; ovary pilose, 8-f'elled, 

 with '2 ovules in each cell; style very long, conspicuous; fruit a trigonous winged 

 ia|)sule over 12 mm. long, the angles with a broad, membranous, veined, rounded 

 wing, glabrous, viscid with resin, orange-brown; seed black. 



A seacoast plant of wide tropical distribution, growing in rocky places and in open 

 waste ground in patches. Flowers yellowish. The leaves have a sour-bitter taste 

 and are .said to have fel)rifugal i>roperties. The plant is good for hedges. The wood 

 ignites readily and is used for fuel. 

 Rkkehencks: 



Dndoimea riscosa Jacq. Enum. 1*1. ('a rib. Ut. ITW). 



Dogbane family. See Apocynaceae. 



Dog-dog ((4uam). See Artocarpus communis. 



Dog' s-f cot bur-weed. See Urena ttinaatn. 



Dolichos bulbosus. Same as Cacara erosa. 



Dolichos catjang. Same as Vigna sinensis. 



Dolichos ensiformis. Same as Canavali ensiforme. 



Dolichos giganteus. See Stizolobium giganteum. 



Dolichos lablab. Hyacinth bea.v. 



Family Fabaceae. 



Local names. — Batao (Philippines); Frijoles caballeros (Porto Rico); Sim 

 (India); Pien-tau (China). 

 A twining plant cultivated in Guam for the sake of its pods, which are eaten green. 

 Leaves pinnately trifoliolate; leaflets broadly ovate, as broad as long, entire, acute; 

 stipules lanceolate; flow^ers in axillary racemes; calyx tube campanulate, teeth short, 

 deltoid; bracteoles oblong, sometimes as long as the calyx; corolla commonly purple, 

 but in some varieties white or red, with a narrow, beaked keel, which is not spirally 

 twisted; pedicels short; stamens diadelphous; ovary nearly sessile, many-ovuled; 

 legume flat, broad, curved, tipped with the hooked persistent base of the style; seeds 

 longitudinally oval, usually dark brown or white with a conspicuous white hilum, 

 not usually eaten when ripe. 



The green pods are dressed and cooked after the manner of French string beans. 

 The red-flowered variety is much esteemed by the natives of India. The stems and 

 ripe seeds are eaten with relish l^y cattle. In Guam, where so much forage is 

 gathered for cattle, this plant would be useful to alternate with corn and would at 

 the same time be valuable as a nitrogen storer. It grows commonly by the native 

 houses, running along the garden fences in company with Botor tetragonoloba. 



References: 



Dolirhm labial, L. Sp. PI. 2: 725. 1753. 



Dolichos sinensis. Same as Vigna sinensis. 



Dolichos tetragonolobus. See Botor tetragonoloba. 



Doni ( Guam ) . General name for red pepper. See Capsicum annuum and C. frute^ceus. 



Dracaena terminalis. See Taetsia terminalis. 



Dugdug (Guam). See Artocarpus communis. 



Dranu(Fiji). See Alocasia indica. 



Dryopteris. See under Ferns. 



Dye plants. 



Acacia farnesiana. — A decoction of the pods with salts of iron yields a black dye, 



used in .Mexico for ink. 

 Averrhoa carambola. — Unripe fruits astringent, used as an acid in dyeing, prob- 

 ably as a mordant. 



