220 USEFUL PLANTS OF GUAM. 



suckers. Flowers small, white, remote, in small spikes; perianth with 3 inner equal 

 obovate lobes and 3 outer minute ones; fertile stamens 9, the 3 inner ones with 2 

 glands at the base, the filaments of the 3 outer ones petal-like, of the 6 others filiform; 

 fruit round, one-seeded, inclosed by the perianth and crowned by its lobes; ovary 

 free, style short, stigma depressed. 



REFERENCES: 



Cassytha filiformis L. Sp. Pi". 1: 35. 1753. 

 Casta (Philippines). See Jatropha curcas. 

 Castor-bean. See Ricinus communis. 

 Casuarina equisetifolia. POLYNESIAN IRON WOOD. PLATE XLI. 



Family Casuarinaceae. 



LOCAL NAMES. Gago (Guam); Agoho (Philippines); Toa (Samoa, Rarotonga); 



Aito (Tahiti); Swamp oak, She-oak, Beef-wood (Australia). 



A leafless tree with drooping branches, somewhat like a pine in general appear- 

 ance. Branches 6 to 8-angled or terete, jointed like the stems of an Equisetum, with 

 6 to 8 sheath teeth at the joints. The genus to which the plant belongs, though 

 formerly classed with the conifers, is now recognized as the only known genus of a 

 distinct family. The flowers are unisexual, the staminate in cylindrical terminal 

 spikes and the pistillate in dense heads borne in the axils and ripening into a cone, 

 which is corky and buoyant and incloses winged seeds (see p. 75). 



The wood is heavy, strong, and very hard, of a red color when fresh, but turning 

 a dark brown with age. It is excellent for fuel. In Samoa the natives make spears 

 and war clubs of it. In Guam it is scarcely at all utilized, as it is hard to work. In 

 the Hawaiian Islands it has been planted along the sea beach and grows rapidly and 

 readily. It loves sandy soil, and will grow in brackish localities. The natives of 

 Samoa prize it so highly that they often plant it near their dwellings. There a large 

 tree is seldom seen, and the young trees are straight and spindling. At Waikiki, 

 near Honolulu, there is a beautiful avenue of it, planted within comparatively recent 

 time. There the trees grow straight. In Guam it is abundant along sandy beaches, 

 especially on the east shore of the island. It also grows on the high "sabanas," 

 where it is usually the only tree, but it never grows within the forest. All the Guam 

 trees have twisted and gnarled trunks, from the effect of hurricanes. 



The species is of wide tropical distribution. It is indigenous in Australia, on the 

 Malayan Islands, and on the east side of the Bay of Bengal, and occurs on many 

 islands of the Pacific, extending eastward to the Marquesas and northward to the 

 Mariannes. It is cultivated in many warm countries, including the Hawaiian Islands, 

 southern Florida, California, and Uruguay. 



REFERENCES: 



Casuarina equisetifolia Stickman, Herb. Amb. 1754; Amoen. Acad.4: 143. 1759. 

 Casue (Guam). See Anacardium occidentale. 

 Cathartocarpus fistula Pers. Same as Casvia fistula. 

 Cator (Philippines). See Jatropha curcas. 

 Caturai (Guam, Philippines) . See Agati grandiflora. 

 Cauayang tinic (Philippines). See Bambos blumeana 

 Caudolejeunia. See under Hepaticse. 

 Caulerpa. See under Algse. 

 Cay am (Cebu). See Bocoa edulis. 



Cayenne pepper. See Capsicum annuum cerasiforme and C. frutescens. 

 Ceanothus asiaticus. Same as Colubrina asiatica. 

 Cebolla (Spanish). See Allium cepa. 

 Cebolla halom-tano (Guam). An orchid, Luisia teretifolia. 



