FOREST VEGETATION. 55 



circinalis, with glossy pinnate leaves resembling fronds of ferns; and 

 Boehmeria tenacissima, which yields the celebrated "rhea" fiber, here 

 growing in the form of a shrub or small tree. Besides these plants 

 Intsia bijuga, a handsome leguminous tree, which yields the excellent 

 ifil wood (PL LIV); Premna gaudichaudii, a verbenaceous tree called 

 ahgau, with elder-like flowers and durable hard wood used in con- 

 struction; and the interesting "nunu" (Ficus sp.), a banyan which 

 sends down aerial roots like life-lines over the edge of the cliffs. 

 Among the smaller plants growing on rocky slopes is Gynopogon torre- 

 sianus, with glossy, myrtle- like leaves and the aromatic fragrance of 

 the "maile" (Gynopogon olivaeformis) so dear to the Hawaiians. 



FORESTS. 



The forest vegetation of Guam (PL II) consists almost entirely of 

 strand trees, epiphytal ferns, lianas, and a few undershrubs. The 

 majority of the species are included in what Schimper has called the 

 Barringtonia Formation. a The principal trees are the wild, fertile 

 breadfruit, Artocarpus communis; the Indian almond, Terminalia 

 catappa; jack-in-the-box, Hernandia peltata; the giant banyan (PL 

 XII), called nunu by the natives (Ficus sp.); two other species of Ficus 

 called u hodda" and "takete" or u taguete," the first with prop-like, 

 aerial roots growing from the trunk near its base and with fruit 

 resembling small, red crab apples and the second resembling the nunu, 

 but with aerial roots from the trunk only and not from the limbs; Pan- 

 danus fragrans ("kafo") (PL LX) and Pandanus dubius ("pahong"), 

 two screw pines which differ from many of their congeners in not 

 being found growing on the outer beach; Oalophyllum inophyllum, a 

 handsome tree known in the East Indies as Alexandrian laurel, which 

 yields the tough crossgrained wood of which the natives make their 

 cart wheels; Barringtonia racemosa, which, unlike its congener, 

 B. speciosa, leaves the coast and follows along the banks of the streams 

 into the interior; Reritiera littoralis (PL LII), called in India the look- 

 ing-glass tree, which furnishes the natives of Guam with tough wood 

 for their plows and wheel spokes; and, among recently introduced 

 trees, Canangium odoratum, the fragrant flowers of which are the 

 source of the perfume known as ilangilang, Annona reticulata, the 

 custard apple or bullock's heart, and Pithecolobium dulce, a leguminous 

 tree known in the East Indies as the Manila tamarind, but which was 

 brought from Mexico for the sake of its tannin-yielding bark and its 

 edible pods. No truly indigenous palms occur, but Areca catheeu,the 

 betel-nut palm, grows spontaneously in damp places; a small, slender- 

 stemmed species allied to Areca, called "palma brava" by the natives, 

 is gradually spreading over the island; and the Caroline Island "sago- 

 palm," Coeloccocus amicarum, has been introduced sparingly. Those 



See Schimper, Die indomalayische Strandflora, p. 68, 1891. 



