178 USEFUL PLANTS OF GUAM. 



same way as the Irish moss or carrageen (Chondrus crispus). The natives cook it 

 with milk or with water, adding to it the juice of fruits to give it an agreeable 

 flavor, and then cool it in molds. In Ceylon it is an article of commerce and is one 

 of the seaweeds called " agar-agar." It is also known commercially as Ceylon moss. 



Cnulerpa davifera is used as a condiment in the same way as the pepper dulse of 

 Scotland (Laurencia pinnatifida] . It is sometimes eaten with vinegar as a salad. 

 Both of these seaweeds are of wide distribution. In Samoa also Caulerpa davifera, 

 called " limu fuafua," is a common article of diet. It is also used by the natives of 

 many other Pacific islands. It is said to be the favorite food of sea turtles. In India 

 and Ceylon Gracilaria confervoides is one of the seaweeds used medicinally, especially 

 for pectoral affections. In Tasmania it is used for making jelly, and is ranked in 

 nutritive value with Chondrus crispus. a 



In Hawaii many seaweeds are used as articles of food. The favorite of the* 

 Hawaiians is the limu-lipoa (Dictyopteris plagiogramma Montague). This is even 

 celebrated in the songs of the natives, who describe the breath of their maidens as 

 perfumed with the limu-lipoa, though to a novice the odor of this alga is anything 

 but agreeable. 



Gracilaria confervoides and Gracilaria lichenoides (L. ) J. Ag. are of wide distribution 

 in the Pacific and Indian oceans. They belong to the Rhodophyceae, or red algse, 

 which include, among other species growing on the shores of Guam, Acanthophora 

 orientalis J. Ag., and Corallopsis salicornia Grev. (Sphaerococcus salicornia C. Ag. ). 

 Among the Corallinaceae occurs Mastophora lamourouxii (Dene.) Harv. (described 

 by Agardh as Zonaria rosea], the typical form of which was collected in Guam by 

 Gaudichaud, and the variety macromrpa. Montr, by Dumont d'Urville. 



Algge are also found on the surface and in the rivers of the island. In the rainy 

 season (August and September) the ground is covered in places with dark-green 

 jelly-like masses of Nostoc commune Ag. and Brachytrichia quoyi Born. & Flah. In 

 the Agafia River Gaudichaud collected Chara fibrosa Ag. and Conferva funicularis Ag. , 

 and in the Pago River Thorea guadichaudii Ag., a delicate plant belonging to the 

 Rhodophyceae. 



In the Agafia River, near its mouth, where the water becomes brackish, occur the 

 green, ulva-like Enteromorpha dathrata (Roth.) Ag. and E. compressa (L.) Grev. 

 These also grow on the sea beach. Other green algae growing in the sea are 

 Rhizoclinum tortuosum fastigiatum Ag., allied to Cladophora, Caulerpa davifera, 

 already mentioned as a favorite condiment of the South Sea Islanders, Caulerpa 

 plumaris (Forsk.) Ag. and Caulerpa freycinetii Ag. The latter have creeping stems 

 resembling those of flowering plants in general appearance, with colorless rhizoids 

 and branched fronds abounding in chlorophyl. One of the most interesting and 

 graceful species is the widely spread Bryopsis plumosa Grev., the minute thallus of 

 which, though branching like a feather, consists of a single cell. Its branches sub- 

 divide into miniature leaf-like processes, and are finally separated from the original 

 cell by transverse walls. The gametes, by means of which it is reproduced, both 

 male and female, are provided with movable cilia. Of a very different habit is 

 Ifalimeda papyracea intricata Ag., which resembles a miniature cactus (Opuntia^ 

 with broad flattened joints. Growing on the coral reef is the common " peacock's 

 tail," Padina pavonia (L. ), a brown alga with thin, papery, fan-shaped fronds marked 

 by concentric zones; and with it Freycinet collected a second species, Padina com- 

 mersonii Bory., which also occurs on the shores of Japan and of Florida. 



Associated with the algse are several flowering plants, including Potamogeton natans 

 and P. zizii, growing in the Agafia River; Halophila ovalis, growing in brackish 

 marshes; and the grass-like Halodule uninervis, like a miniature Zostera, growing in 

 the sea. 



Maiden, Useful Plants Australia, p, 33, 1389. 



