Bfifi USEFUL PLANTS OF GUAM. 



Rutaceae. Rue family. 



There are no iiKlifienous Rutaceae. Tn a<l(litioii to the varioun speeies of Citrus, 

 the "leiuoiu-ito" ( IVIjiluisia trij'vliaUi) has been introduced, and in many places forms 

 dense, imjienetrable thickets. 

 Rynchospora aurea. Same as Hynchospora corymbosa. 



Rynchospora corymbosa. Beak rush. 



Family ("vperaceae. 

 A sed;ie widelj' distributed in the Tropics, collected in Guam by Haenke in 1792 

 and Lesson in 1828. Common in moist places, especially on the borders of rice fields. 

 It has a leafy 3-cornered stem (50 to 90 em. high and very many clustered spikelets 

 at the ends of the branches of large decompound umbels. 

 Rei'EUKNces: 



lii/nehospora corymbosa (L. ) 



ScirpvH corymbosns L. Cent. PI. 2:7. 1756 (ex Ind. Kew.) ; Amoen. Acad. 



4: 803. 1756. 

 Ryurhrmpom nnrea Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 229. 1806. 



Sabana vegetation. See Savannas. 

 Saber bean. See Canavali ensiforme. 

 Sables (Philippines). See Asplenium nidus under Ferns. 

 Sabotan (Philippines). See Pandanus tedorius. 

 Saccharum floridulum. Same as Xiphagrostis floridula. 



Saccharum officinarum. Sugar cane. 



Family Poaeeae. 



Local names.— Cafia dulce, Caiia de aziicar (Spanish); Tupu, Tupo (Guam); 

 Tubo, (Philippines); Tubu, Tibu mini (Malay Archipelago); Tebu(Java); 

 Dovu (Fiji); Tolo (Samoa); To (Tahiti, Easter Island); Fari (Madagascar). 



Sugar cane was one of the food staples of the aborigines Ijefore the discovery 

 of Guam. Its vernacular name is etymologically identical in many islands of the 

 Malay Archipelago, the Philippines, and Polynesia; and the variety in Guam from 

 which the natives make sugar, with short internodes and of a yellow color, is like 

 that found l)y Captain Cook in Tahiti.. Another variety, called "cafia morada" by 

 the Spaniards, of a purple color, is also grown on the island, but it is too watery 

 and not sweet enough for sugar-making. The variety "amarilla" grows to the 

 height of 7 or 8 feet; the "morada" grows much higher. 



The cultivation of sugar cane is not now carried on so extensively as formerly, as 

 the manufacture of sugar demands no little labor, and requires the use of animals 

 and machinery, and imported sugar can he bought of the traders at a comparatively 

 low })rice. There are families, however, who retain the customs of their ancestors, 

 holding it to be wrong to buy anything which they themselves can make. These 

 not only make their sugar from cane or from the sap of the cocoanut, l)ut evaporate 

 sea water in iron kettles to get their salt, counting as nothing the labor of their fam- 

 ilies or the value of the fuel consumed. 



The climate of Guam is well adapted to the cultivation of sugar cane, and in many 

 low-lying situations, where it is not very wet, the soil seems well suited to it. 

 Though the cost of a sugar mill is considerable, yet one mill would answer for the 

 crops of many farms, and the natives could carry their cane to the mill just as with 

 us the farmers carry their wheat or corn. 



The cane is propagated by cuttings, consisting of two or three joints of the upper 

 part of the stem. These are selected from vigorous, healthy plants. They are placed 

 in the ground with only an inch or two of the cutting projecting above the surface. 

 In about two weeks from planting the "eyes" at each node will send forth shoots, 

 and roots will grow from the nodes themselves. As the shoots develop, the parent 



