;}3U USEFI'L PLANTS OF GUAM. 



On theiippor face of this jjole ii stnmj,' knife with a wooden handle is firmly attacluMl 

 hv means of a pivot. The handle is attached hy a sprinj^ to thu roof above or the 

 hraiifh of a tree, and hy a line or rattan to a treadle below, which can be worked 

 b\ tile foot of the (>|>erat()r. Tiie .Mprin<; above holds the edge of the knife against 

 the pole or a block with a nniform i)ressin-e, while the strip is drawn between it and 

 the i)ole or block. By means of the treadle the pressure is released. The fineness 

 and whiteness of the fiber is enhanced by drawing the strips several times. This is 

 accoiiipaiiied liy considerable wasti', wiiich is in part compi'nsati'd for b}- an increase 

 in vahie of the lil)er." 

 Ukkkkk.nces: 



Mnmte.dilisW'e, Anal. Cienc. Nat. 4: 12:]. LSOl. 



Mussaenda frondosa. 



I'^amily linbiaceae. 



Local N.\.\iEs.—Agboy (Philippines); 'Uto'uto, Aloalo-sina, Fau-uta (Samoa); 

 J)ovu (Fiji). 



A hand.some shrub, with yellow flowers, having one of the divisions of the calyx 

 expanded into a white, leaf-like, petioled appendage. Leaves oblong or ovate- 

 acuminate, opposite or in whorls of three; stipules solitary or in pairs between the 

 petioles; flowers in terminal cymes; bracts and ])racteoles deciduous; calyx-tube 

 obhing or turljinate; calyx-teeth 5, deciduous almost immediately after flowering, 

 one modified into a large, white, petioled leaf; corolla tuluilar, funnel-shaped above, 

 tube silky, throat hairy; lobes 5, broadly ovate, acute or acuminate; stamens 5 on the 

 throat of tlie corolla, filaments short, anthers linear; ovary 2-celled; style filiform; 

 stigmas 2, linear; ovules numerous on peltate fleshy placentas; berry obovoid, glab- 

 rous, fleshy, with a broad areole on the top; seeds minute, testa pitted. ' 



This plant is of wide tropical distribution, being found in Polynesia, Melanesia, 

 the Malay Archipelago, and India. In Bombay the white leaf-like segment of the 

 calyx is eaten as a vegetable. The white leaves are given in milk as a remedy for 

 jaundice in India, and the root is used as a remedy for leprosy. 



References: 

 Mussaenda frondosa Li, S'p. PL 1: 177. 1753. 

 Mustard (Indian). See Brassica juncea. 

 Mutha (India). See Cyperus rotundus. 

 Myrobalan family. See Comhretaceae. 



Nagao {(luam ). 



The vernacular name for a ripe coconut in which the water has become absorbed. 



Naju (Panama). See AbelmoscJius esculentua. 



Name (Panama). See Dioscorea alala. 



Namuleng-a (Samoa). SeeVilex frifolia. 



Nana (Guam). See Lumnitzera Uttorea and L. pedicellala. 



Nana ((iuam). See Tjumnitzera pedicellata. 



Nanag-o ((^uam) . See (^ri/nopogon torresianus. 



Nanaso ((Juam). See Lobelia Jxocnigil. 



Nangka (Guam). 



The Phillipine name for the Jak-fruit {Artocarpus integrifoUa) ; in Guam applied to 

 the edible seed of the fertile brea<lfruit, Artocarpus (■(mimnnis, or "dugdug." 



Naranjo (Spanish). See Citrus auruntium, and its variety sinensis. 

 Nardo (Guam). Name applied in the island to Atamosco rosea. 



"SeeGilmore, Commercial fibers of Philippines, Bur. Agr. [Philippines], Farmers' 

 Bull. No. 4, pp. 11-12, 1908. 



