DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 233 



Clusiaceae. BALSAM-TREE FAMILY. 



Representatives of this family growing in Guam are Ochrocarpus obovalis and Calo- 

 phyllum inophyllum. 

 Coconut palm. See Cocos nucifera. 



Cocos nucifera. COCONUT. PLATES XLIII, XLIV. 



Family Phoenicaceae. 



LOCAL NAMES. Niyog (Guam); Niog (Philippines); Nior, Nyor, Kalapa (Malay 

 Archipelago); Niu (Polynesia); Coco (Spanish); Kokospalme (German). 



A pinnate-leaved palm with a straight or curved trunk marked with ring-like leaf 

 scars, which are not prominent, and rising from an inclined swollen base. Inflo- 

 rescence a branching spadix, inclosed at first in a cylindrical sheath or spathe (PI. 

 XLIII) which splits longitudinally; branches of the inflorescence not subtended by 

 additional spathes; flowers monoecious, the branches of the spadix bearing through- 

 out the greater part of their length numerous small male flowers and near their base 

 usually a single female flower much larger than the male (PI. XLIV); male flowers 

 3-petaled and 3-sepaled, with 6 stamens united at the base, and a rudimentary pistil 

 or small central point; female flowers 6-petaled, usually accompanied by two adja- 

 cent male flowers; ovary 3-celled, but usually 2 of the cells becoming abortive; fruit 

 more or less triangular, consisting of a hard endocarp (shell) perforated by three 

 foramina, inclosing an endosperm (the kernel or "meat"), which is rich in oil and is 

 covered by a thin, brown, closely adhering testa. The endosperm when young is of 

 the consistency of the albumen of a soft-boiled egg and surrounds an opalescent fluid 

 composed principally of water and sugar. As it grows older it becomes firmer and 

 finally assumes a hard and almost horny consistency, the inclosed water thickening 

 and becoming gradually absorbed. Outside of the shell there is a thick, fibrous meso- 

 carp (husk), which yields the "coir" of commerce, the surface of which is covered 

 with a smooth, thin, hard, tough epicarp. 



In germinating, the inner end of the embryo, an extension of the cotyledon, is 

 developed into a special absorbing organ (the "apple"). From the outer end of the 

 embryo, situated below one of the openings at the apex of the shell, grow the plu- 

 mule and the roots. The specialized cotyledon at first attacks and proceeds to digest 

 the part of the kernel adjacent to the embryo. It continues to grow until it fills the 

 entire cavity of the nut, the kernel of which becomes soft. The roots push forth 

 and enter the soil before the kernel is totally absorbed, and finally the union between 

 the young plant and the cotyledon is broken and it begins an independent existence. 

 The function performed by the husk is protective. It is of low specific gravity and 

 keeps the nut afloat if it falls into the sea, so that the nut may be transported from 

 shore to shore by ocean currents. 



As shown by Cook, the coconut is, in all probability, of American origin, 6 but it 

 became widely distributed throughout the warmer regions of the Pacific, the Malay 

 Archipelago, and the East Indies in prehistoric times. c It is of very wide distribu- 

 tion in the Tropics. It flourishes best near the seashore and requires plenty of sun- 

 shine and free circulation of air. Dense plantations of coconuts have been growing 

 for centuries in the same spots on the coast of Guam (PI. I), while groves planted in 

 the interior sooner or later exhaust the soil and become spindling and unproductive. 

 These seaside groves yield abundantly; and while good results are obtained from 

 plantations in the interior, yet the soil will not continue to produce there indefinitely 



"See Winton, anatomy of the fruit of the Cocos nucifera, Am. Journ. Sci., ser. 4, 

 vol. 12, p. 265, 1901. 



&Cook, origin and distribution of the Cocoa palm,ppntr. Nat. Herb., vol. 7, p. 257,1901. 



c Another interesting example of the wide dissemination of a plant belonging to an 

 American genus is that of Osteomeles anthyllidifolia, all save one of whose congeners 

 are indigenous to the Andes, but which occurs in the Hawaiian Islands, Pitcairn, 

 Rarotonga, the Bonin Islands, and the Liu-kiu group, near Formosa. 



