'Mi\ USEBTIL PLANTS OF GUAM. 



Solanum tuberosum. Potato. Irlsh potato. 



TIk- iMitato caw imt l)i' .siu'ceesfully cultivated in (luam. 

 Refere.ncks: 

 Solamtm tuberosum L. Sp. IM. 1: 184. 1753. 



Sophora tomentosa. Seacoast laburni'm. 



Fainiiy Fahaceae. ' 



Lo( Ai, NA.MK.S. — Hafigil, Tambalisa, Kabaikilbai, Kiiuai, Ya bag (Philippines); 

 Kail III aU'wa, "Woman's Tree" (Fiji); Mudu-murunga (Ceylon). 

 A shrub or .small tree growing on the strand with gray velvety branches, yellow 

 Howers, and necklace-like jioils with joints separated ))y narrow necks. Leaves odd- 

 pinnate with 7 or 8 pairs of leaflets, which are shortly stalked and often alternate, 



4 cm. long, broadly oval, obtuse and rounded atljoth ends, pubescent; flowers rather 

 large, pedicels as long as the calyx, jointed near the top, rather closely arranged in 

 stout, erect, stalked racemes about 15 cm. long; needle-like bracts deciduous; calyx 

 somewhat inflated, velvety, segments very small; pod covered with velvety down, 



5 to 15 cm. long, long-stalked; seeds nearly globular, pale brown, 9.5 mm. in diameter. 

 This jilant is not common in Guam. It grows sparingly on the windward side of 



the island on the sandy beach between Pago and Talofofo. It is widely spread on 

 tropical shores. The natives had no vernacular name for it and said that it had 

 recently appeared on the island. 



All ])arts of the i)lant, ])nt especially the ])ark of the root and the seeds, are bitter 

 and yield a poisonous alkaloid called sophorine. In the Malay Archipelago the pul- 

 verized seeds are used as a specific for dysentery and cholera and as an antidote after 

 having eaten poisonous marine animals. Padre Blanco says that the seeds are purg- 

 ing." Two of them are almost too drastic for a dose in tertian fever. They are a 

 common remedy among tlie natives of the Philippines for disorders of the stomacli 

 and were at one time a popular remedy for cholera morbus. 

 References: 

 Sophora tomentosa L. Sp. PI. 1: 373. 1753. 



Sorrel. See Oxalis corniculaia. 

 Soursop. See Annona muricata. 

 Spanish needles. See Glossogyne tenuifolia. 

 Spider-fl.ower. See Cleome viscosa. 

 Spider lily. See Pancratium lUtorale. 



Spiderwort. See Commelina nudtffor<t and Zi/gomenes capitata. 

 Spike-rush, capitate. See Eleocharis capitata. 

 Spike-rush, plantain-like. See Eleocharis plantaginoidea. 

 Spur pepper. See Vapi^lcinn frutescens. 

 Spurge, (xeneral name for the species of Euphorbia. 

 Star-grass, golden. See Hypoxis aurea. 

 Starch-yielding plants. 

 Among the plants yielding starch are: 



Alocasia indica and A. macrorhiza. — Piga, acrid taro. 

 Artocarpus communis. — Lemae and dugdug, breadfruit. 

 Cacara erosa. — Hi'kamas, yam-bean. 

 Caladium colocasia. — Suni, taro. 

 Canna indica. — Mango halom-tano. 

 Cycas circinalis. — Federico or fadang. 

 Dioscorea spj). — Dago, nika, and gado, yams. 

 Ipomoea batatas. — Kamute, sweet potatoes. 

 Manihot manihot. — Mandiuka, cassava plant. 

 Musa paradisiaca. — Chotda, bananas and plantains. 



aFloradeFilipinas, p. 329, 1837. 



