;i7() USEFUL PLANTS (>F GUAM. 



c'xtromitit's of llu> l)ranclies, t'lliptif-iilil<>ii<r, acntc; primary veins thick, potioles 

 <ln\vii\ : liowns wliiiisli, pfdicrllatc in llic axils; calyx Hcgments 6, in 2 distinct 

 srrii's; corolla <)-lul)c-<l. The fruit is a little lar^'er than an ej^g. It is covered by a 

 rough lirown skin and contains a yellowish pulp with 4 or 5 black seeds. It is not 

 eaten until thoroughly ripe, when it is sugary and very sweet. 



This species is allied to tlit> star-apple of tlie West Indies (Chri/sophylhun cainito). 

 It was intn^ihiced into (Juani about thirty years ago. The few trees now growing on 

 the island appear to thrive, but they seldom bear fruit. A line tree grows in San 

 Ramon, near the southern boundary of Agana, opposite the house of Don Jos6 Herrero. 

 In the markets of ^Manila tlie fruit is common. In the United States the cultivation 

 of this tree is limited to southern Florida. The tree yields a latex, which is boiled 

 ilown until it a.-^sumes the consistency of gutta-percha, to which it is allied. It is 

 called chicle in Mexico, and is the l>asis of the chewing gum so widely used in the 

 United States. 



T^EFEREXCES: 



Sapota zapotiUa ( Jacq.) Coville. 



Achras sapota L. Sp. PI. ed. 2. 1: 470. 1762. Not Achras zapota L. Sp. PI. 2: 

 1190. 1753. 



Adiras zapota zapotilla Jacq. Select. Stirp>. Am. Hist. 57. 1763. 

 The geiuis Achras (L. Sp. PI. 2: 1190. 1753; L. Gen. PI. ed. 5. 497. 1754) was based 

 by Linnjeus on Plumier's genus Sapota, but only one of Plumier's two species was 

 enumerated by Linnfeus in 1753. This species, AcJtrus zapota, being the only Achras 

 in the first edition of Linnaeus' Species Plantarum, is the type of that genus. An 

 unfortunate confusion of names was introduced by Linn?eus in the second edition of 

 his Species Plantarum, in 176:2, when he changed the name of his Achras zapota oi 

 1753 to Achras mnnmom, transferring the former name, Adiras zapota, to another 

 species under a modified sjielling Achras sapota. The nomenclatorial misunderstand- 

 ings thus originated are easily and definitely dispelled by an application of the rule 

 of priority and the principle of generic types. The name Achras zapota is restored to 

 its original use, and since the second species, called Achras sapota, does not ])elongto 

 the same genus as the first, a new generic name must be found. This nomenclatorial 

 vacancy is filled by Sapota, published by Miller, Gard. Diet. ed. 7. 1759, who includes 

 both species, but his first and the type of the genus is the one described above. The 

 sjjccific name, sapota, is not tenable on account of the earlier Achras zapota of 1753, 

 and as ^Miller did not propose a binomial name for the species, the subspecific name 

 zapotilla, proposed by Jacquin in 1763, is adopted. — Frederick Y. Coville. 



Sapotilla plum. See Sapota zapotilla. In Guam and the Philippines it is called 

 "chico." 



Sappan-wood. See Biancaea sappan. 

 Sarasa (Philippines). See Gra2)tophylluin pictiim. 

 Saromo (Philippines). See Achyranthes aspera. 

 Saucer leaf. See Nothopanax cochleatum. 

 Sauce ( Spanish ) . See Premna gaudichaudii. 

 Savanna plants. 



The upland regions devoid of forest growth are known in Guam as "sabanas" 

 or " savannas." The highest mountains of the island scarcely exceed 1,000 feet in 

 height, and there is no distinctive vegetation on the high land. The soil consists 

 chiefly of red day, whicli is impervious to water and is incapable of drainage. 

 Among the plants growing there are a inimber of strand plants and marsh plants 

 which love the sun and will not grow in shaded localities. Most of the savannas are 

 covered with a growth of sword-grass or "neti" {Xipheagroslis floridula), with a 



