356 USEFUL PLANTS OF GUAM. 



From tlu' libroiis imu'r li;irk <p|" this species the Samoans make their red, shapgy, 

 ruji-like mats ami tln'ir nets and lif<liin>i lines. The fil)er is of fine texture and great 

 strength, hut difiifiilt to prepare. In Australia it is known as the (Queensland 

 grass-ell )| 1 1 ] plant, nr niitivc Mini berry. It was first colk'cted on (uiam l)y (iandiehaud. 

 Till' lilier is nut utilized on this island. I'Voni the allied mamake tlie Hawaiians 

 made bark-cloth or "tapa." Tlie Itark yields a brown dye. 

 Kki'Ekences: 



ripturus nrgentcm (Forst.) We<l<l. in DC. Trod. 16 ': 235'M869. 

 Urtica argenlcn Forst. Prod. 65. 1786. 

 Pipturus propinquus. Same as Pipturus argenteus. 

 Pisang (Philippines), ^ee Musa paradisiaca. 

 Pisonia brunoniana. Same as Pi.wnut e.ccelsa. 



Pisonia excelsa. 



Family Nyetaginaceae. 



Local names. — Umumu, Umumo (Guam); Tak-an (Philippines); Buatea 



(Tahiti"). 



A shrul) or tree, glabrous or nearly so; leaves opposite or growing in whorls at the 



ends of the branches, more or less coriaceous, oblong or oval, obtuse or pointed at 



the tip, slightly cordate, usually attenuate at the base (15 to 20 cm. or more long by 



4 to 6 cm. wide). Flowers dicecious, growing in terminal or lateral clusters (10 to 15 

 cm. long); clusters in pairs or in fours on the extremities of the branches, sometimes 

 covered with reddish hairs, or on nodules on the lower parts of the branches; 

 peduncles smooth or pubescent, like the rest of the inflorescence, often elongated 

 and with short ramifications or shortened and with longer ramifications. Perianth 

 funnel-shajjed, 5 to 6 mm. long, 5-toothed, the fruiting clusters larger than the 

 flowering ones; fruiting perianth, 4 to 5 cm. long by 3 to 4 mm. wide, oblong, with 



5 ribs either smooth or armed with tiny spines, attenuate at the base, claviform at 

 the top, exuding a viscous juice; stamens 6 to 10, of unequal length, protruding; 

 female flowers having a 1-celled ovary more or less elongated, with a single erect 

 ovule; style often exserted with a 2-lobed stigma; stigma-lobes pectinate; style of 

 male flowers when present often shorter than the stamens, its stigma lateral, oval, 

 entire, spongy ; fruit angular, inclosed in the persistent tube of the perianth, the angles 

 frequently armed with prickly glands, wdiich are sometimes scarcely perceptible. 



This species is quite varia1)le and has been described under several names. It is 

 widely distributed throughout the Pacific and in tropical Asia. 

 Kkferences: 



Pisonia excelsa Blume, Bijdr. 735. 1826. 



Pisonia umhellifera Seem. ; Nadeaud, Enum. PI. Tahiti, 46. 1873. 



Pisonia mitis. Same as Pisonia excelsa. 

 Pisonia umbellifera. Same a.s Pinonia excelsa. 

 Pisura sativum. 



Peas (Spanish "alverjas") will not grow in Guam. 

 References: 



Pisum sativum L. Sp. PL 2:727. 1753. 

 Pithecolobium dulce. Guamachil. 



Family Minio.«aceae. 



Local names. — Kamachiles, Camachile (Guam, Philippines); Guamachil, 



Iluamachil, Guamachi (Mexico); Manila Tamarind (India). 



A medium-sized tree introducinl into (luam from Mexico, via the Philippines, bearing 



heads of small yellowish-green fiowers followed by pods containing seeds endjedded 



in a sweet, white, edible pulp or aril. Branches glabrous, pendulous; leaves abruptly 



bipinnate, composed of a single pair of pinnae, each of which has a single pair of 



