322 TTs?:FrL I'Lants ok ouam. 



Meibomia umbellata. Bush tkk-tkkfoii,. 



LoiAi. XAMtis. — Palajra hilitai (Guam); LftlJl (Samoa). 

 A slirnl) 1 to 2 metiTS hijrli K-'owing on the seal)each, with (U>n.«ely downy yomiji 

 l)ranfhes, .S-foliolate leaves, and axillary umbels of whitish papilionaceous liowers. 

 Branches terete; i)etioles 2.5 cm. or less long, slightly furrowed; leaflets subcoria- 

 ceous with raised costate veins, green an<l glabrous above, thinly gray-canescent or 

 nearly glabrescent beneath, end leaflet larger than side ones, roundish, or broad- 

 ol)long, 5 to 7.5 cm. long; umbels 6 to 12-flowered; pedicels short, unequal; calyx 4 

 mm. long, densely silky, 4-i)arted, 2-bracted; bracts minute, deciduous; standard of 

 corolla obovate, keel l)lunt; stamens monadelphous; pod jointed, 3.5 to 5 cm. long, 

 the joints o to 5, thick, glabrescent or silky, indented at both sutures. 



A strand shrub of wide tropical distril)ution. Common near the beach in Guam. 

 Samoa, Fiji, and the Malay Archipelago. In Samoa it is used for perches for pet 

 fruit pigecms. The Guam name means "lizard's bush." 

 References: 

 Meibomia umbellata Kuntze, Rev. Gen. 1: 197. 1891. 

 Hedysarwii tunbellatum L. Sp. PI. 2: 747. 175.3. 

 Dcsniodhun nrnhpllnturi, DC. Prod. 2: 325. 1825. 



Melastoma denticulata. Same as Melastoma viariannum. 



Melastoma m.arianum.. MEL.VHTo.yA. 



Family Melastomataceae. 



Local names. — Gafau (Guam). 

 A low, hairy shrub growing on the coast, described by Charles Naudin in his 

 monograph of the .Melastomataceae from specimens collecte<l near Agana by Hombron 

 and Le Guillou. It is injurious to chickens. Where it grows they can not be raised. 

 It is erect and branching with flowers comparatively small for this genus, short 

 stamens usually corresponding in numlier with the petals; branches rust-colored, 

 with appressetl stiff hairs and scurfy scales at last falling off; leaves oljlong-ovate, 

 acuminate, acute, almost entire, 5-nerved with a marginal nerve on each side, the 

 blade on l)oth surfaces covered with small stiff appressed sharp hairs; flowers at the 

 apex of the l)ranches, subcorymbose, 5-merous; anthers obtuse, the connective of all 

 with a simply articulate filament. 



This plant at first glance resembles M. denticulatum; it is different, how-ever, on 

 account of the structure of the connective of the anthers and some other characters. 

 The stem sometimes almost simple, more frequently branching, those examined by 

 Naudin a half meter long; leaves 4 to 7 cm. in length; calyx covered with chaffy 

 hairs, with 5 ovate lobes almost equal in length to the tube, with minute teeth 

 between the divisions; petals broadly ovate, somewhat notched at the apex, al)0ut 

 12 mm. long and broad; anthers very short for this genus, oblong-ovoid, obtuse; the 

 connective of the larger ones beneath the cells short, not very much curved, not 

 manifestly thickened nor l)ilobed at the insertion of the filament; that of the smaller 

 ones scarcely perceptible; fruit a berry, 5-celled and of nearly the size of a pea." 



References: 



Melastoma marianuni Naud. .Vnn. Sc. Nat. III. 13: 27H. 1849. 



Melastoma medinillana Gaudich. Same as MediniUa rosea. 



Melastomataceae. Mel.\stoma family. 



This family is represented in Guam by Mfhistouia vianaiinm and MedinUla roxea. 



Melia azedarach. Pride of India. Chinaberry. 



Family Meliaceae. 



LocAi, NAMES. — Paraiso (Guam; Mexico; Philippines); Jacinto (Panama); Arbol 

 de Paraiso (Spanish); Persian Lilac (India); Syrian Bead Tree (ilediterra- 

 nean ) . 



« Charles Naudin, Monograph of the Melastomataceae, Ann. Sci. Nat, ser. 3., vol. 

 13, p. 27(5, 1849. 



