2S() rSEFUL PLANTS OV OF AM. 



A varicpatod-leavi'il shriil) quite common in jjardens and often planted in rows 

 near tlii' liouseB, eo as to receive the drippinfjs from thi- thatchetl roofs. Leaves 

 nlal)r(ins, lu-tioled, opposite, ovate-lanceolate or broadly elliptic, narrowed at both ends, 

 entire, usually varief^ated with while irre^'ular patches, which frecjuently resemble a 

 profile of tlie human face; flowers crimson, pedicelled, clustered in terminal thyrses, 

 with very small, narrow, curved bracts and bracteoles, calyx small, Hub-5-partite; 

 sejiments e(|ual, linear-lanceolate, corolla tube curved; liml) 2-lij)ped, u[)i)er lip 

 shortly 2-lid, lower 3-lobed; stamens 2, with 2 minute staminodes; anthers oblong, 

 2-celled; cells parallel, without points; ovary witli 4 ovules; style iiliform, scarcely 

 bifid; capsule oblong, hard, contracted into a long stalk; seeds usually 2, orbicular 

 or sulKjuadrate, flat, lacunose-rugose. 



This {ilant is probably a native of Java, but has been spread widely and is found 

 in gardens in nearly all tropical countries. Tliere are varieties having the leaves 

 of a dark-clan't color and other with green leaves. In some parts of India the 

 natives use the leaves as soap. 

 Kkferencks: 



(irajnuphyllum pictum (L.) Griff. Notul. 4: L39. 1854. 



Jiistieio picid L. Sp. PI. ed. 2. 1: 21. 1702. 



(ivapluphjllum hurlense Nees in Wall. PI. As. Rar. 3: 102. 1882. 



Grasses. 



Andropogon aciculatus. — ^Awned beardgrass. A species widely spread in the 

 Tropii's; good pasture, but disagreeable on account of its adherent spikelets and 

 awns. 



Andropogon nardus. — Ijcmon grass. A fragrant, lemon-sc^enteil grass, planted 

 by the nativi's near their houses; said to have been introduced into the island 

 fiiom thi' Carolines. 



Bambos blumeana. — ^Thorny liamboo. A handsome species, with hard, duralile 

 stalks, which resist the attacks of insects; used by the natives for making inclos- 

 ures, and in the construction of their houses and ranches; also as water vessels 

 and receptacles for cocoanut sap. 



Bambos sp. — An unarmed bamboo, called by Gaudichaud B. ariotdinacfa, possi- 

 bly a sj)ecies of Schizostachyum; inferior to the preceding in strength and dura- 

 bility; subject to the attacks of insects. 



Capriola dactylon. — The well-known Bermuda grass, common in the lawns 

 about the houses of the natives; grows well and without care in sandy soil. 



Centotheca lappacea. — A broad-leaved robust grass, known as Inir grass, grow- 

 ing near the sea and in damp upland regions; good fodder for cattle; found also 

 in Samoa, the Caroline Islands, Philippines, Andaman Islands, and the East 

 Indies. 



Chaetochloa glauca aurea. — Golden foxtail. A grass with its inflorescence in 

 spike-lik(> clusters. 



Coix lachryma-jobi. — Job's tears. Seeds hard, stony; sometimes strung into 

 necklai'es or rosaries. 



Dactyloctenium aegyptiacum. — Goose grass. Growing in yards and waste 

 ])laces; a coarse grass with creeping habit of growth; naturalized in the LTnited 

 States. 



Dimeria chloridiformis. — A grass with ciliate leaves growing in damp places. 



Echinochloa colona. — Jungle rice. A grass allied to our barnyard grass {E. crus- 

 (/iil/i), but with awnless scales. 



Eleusine indica. — Yard grass; a tufted grass with fiat leaves and digitate spikes 

 at the sununit of the culm; common in yards; naturalized in the United States. 

 In (iuam called "umog." 



Eragrostis pilosa. — A grass with erect, tufted, slender-] )ranched culms; common 

 in yards and damp places; naturalized from Europe in the United States; eaten 

 by buffaloes and cattle. 



Eragrostis plumosa. — A slender annual grass common in sandy soils and often 

 found in yards of natives; eaten by l)uffaloes and cattle. 



Eragrostis tenella. — An annual grass with stiff, rather brittle, flowering stems, 

 and capillary branches })earing minute spikelets, which are often tinged, when 

 mature, with red; often found in cultivated fields; eaten by cattle; possibly 

 identical with the preceding. 



