DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 315 



Mallotus. See Echinus sp. 



Malunggai (Pliilippines). See Moringa moringa. 

 Malva (Guam). See Abutilon indicum. 

 Malva blanca (Cuba). See Wnllheria americana. 

 Malvabisco ( Porto Rico ) . See Waltheria americana. 



Malvaceae. Mallow family. 



Thif^ family is represented in Guam bj' the following genera: Abelmo.si'hus, Abu- 

 tilon, Gossypium, Hi))iscus, Pariti, Sida, Thespesia, and Urena. 



Mamaka (Guam). See Polygonum sp. 



Mamaon (Guam). See under Piper belle. 



Mampalam (Mindanao). See 3fangifera indica. 



Mana (Guam). See Gleichenia dicliotoma. < 



Mana (Philippines). See Jatropha multiiida. 



Mandioka or Mandiuka (Guam). See Manihot manihot. 



Manga (Tagalog). See Mangifera indica. 



Maiigeso (Samoa). See Schychoivskya interrupta. 



Mang'ga (Guam). See Mangifera indica. 



Mangifera indica. Mango. Plate xxvrii. 



Family Anacardiaceae. 



Local names. — Maiigga (Guam); Manga (Tagalog); Mampalam (Mindanao). 

 The mango tree is not well established in Guam. There are few trees on the 

 island, but these produce fruit of the finest quality. Guam mangoes are large, sweet, 

 fleshy, juicy, and almost entirely free from the fiber and the flavor which so often 

 characterize the fruit. The trees grow to great size and appear to be thrifty; but 

 nearly all on the island have been blown down by baguios, or hurricanes, and con- 

 tinue to grow, as it were, resting on their elbows. The cause for this, I think, is the 

 shallowness of the soil, the hard coral rock not allowing the roots to penetrate to 

 any great depth. Those which remain standing are in low, protected places, where 

 the soil is comparatively deep. The natives value the fruit more highly than any 

 other food product of the island. Indeed, the presence of a mango tree on a rancho 

 enhances its value. During some seasons no fruit is produced. The natives fre- 

 quently cut gashes in the trunk and build fires beneath the limbs, thinking that the 

 tree will be induced thereby to produce a good crop. Frequently one portion of the 

 tree will ])loom or send out fresh foliage, which is reddish and tender when new, 

 while the rest of the tree remains dormant, and it often happens that the fruit is 

 perfectly ripe on certain limbs, while on others it is still green. The trees are prop- 

 agated by seed, and the fruit of the seedlings appears, in Guam, to be identical with 

 that of the parent tree. The seeds must be planted when quite fresh. The young 

 plants are tender, and are killed in transplanting if the root be injured. Grafting and 

 inarching is not practiced, though it could be done with good advantage from limbs 

 of mature trees producing especially fine fruit,«and it could be carried on with espe- 

 cial facility with the prostrated trees, which still continue to grow vigorously and 

 bear fine fruit. The tree is in Guam entirely free from disease or injurious parasites. 

 In view of the excellent quality of its fruit and the danger of bringing diseases and 

 parasitic insects with specimens from abroad, importation of living mango plants 

 should be forbidden. The failure to produce crops each year is probably owing to 

 the fact that the dry season in Guam is not sufiiciently marked to cause the trees to 



« Grafting should not be performe<l during the rainy season nor in the midst of 

 the hottest part of the vear. Inarching of tlie herbaceous parts is most successful. 

 See Baltet, L'art de greffer, p. 297, 1892. 



