274 USEFUL PLANTS OF GUAM. 



hang in graceful tufts from the limbs of forest trees, the curious climbing Humata 

 heterophylla (Sin.) J. Sm. (PL LIII), with simple sterile fronds and prettily lobed 

 and crenated fertile ones, and the glossy, divided Davallia solida Swartz (known as 

 pugua machena) (PL III), which also climbs the trunks of forest trees and perches 

 upon the limbs, associated with the species of Nephrolepis and with Phymatodes 

 phymatodes (L.) Maxon. 



No Hymenophyllaceae have been observed in the Marianne Islands. 



Fern allies. 



The Ophioglossales are represented in Guam by Ophioderma pendula (L.) Presl, an 

 epiphytal species which hangs from the limbs of forest trees like broad green ribbons, 

 by the natives called "leston." The only representative of the Marattiales recorded 

 from the island is Angiopteris evecta Hoffm. (PL XXXIII), which grows in the 

 woods in damp places, usually on the margins of streams. 



The Lycopodiales are represented by the epiphytal Lycopodium phlegmaria and the 

 terrestrial L. cernuum. No Selaginella has been collected nor have any Equisetales 

 or Salviniales been found on the island. 



Fetau (Samoa). See Calophyllum inophyllum. 

 Fever-nut. See Guilandina crista. 

 Fiafiatuli (Samoa). See Portulaca quadrifida. 



Fianiti (Guam). 



A climbing plant with slender, pliable stems, used for lashing together the frame- 

 work of houses; not identified. 



Fiber plants. 



Among the fiber-yielding plants growing in Guam are the following; those 

 marked with an asterisk (*) are the most important: 



Abutilon indicum. Stem yields a fiber suitable for cordage; not utilized in 

 Guam. 



Agave vivipara?. Called by the natives "lirio de palo" or "tree-lily;" leaf 

 fiber used to wrap cigars and for thread. 



* Ananas ananas. The pineapple; leaf fiber, twisted by hand, used for fine fish- 

 ing nets. 



Annona spp. Custard-apples; bark of young twigs tough, resembling that of the 

 allied "papaw" of North America (Asimina triloba}; fiber utilized in the West 

 Indies, but not in Guam. The strips of bark of Annona reticulata, which grows 

 wild on the island, are used for temporary lashings. 



*Artocarpus communis. The breadfruit; bark tough and leathery; inner bark 

 utilized in several islands of Polynesia, and probably by the aborigines of Guam, 

 for making bark cloth. 



Areca cathecu. Betel-nut palm; in some countries the flower sheath used for 

 caps and dishes and the leaf sheath for cups and bags; in Ceylon strong and 

 durable water vessels made of it; not utilized for these purposes in Guam. 



Bambusa spp. The shoots yield a fiber of which the Chinese make paper; in sev- 

 eral countries matting is made of the split stems; not utilized in Guam for fiber. 



*Boehmeria tenacissima. The rhea plant, called "amahadyan" by the natives 

 of Guam; grows wild in rocky places; not utilized by the natives for fiber. 



Ceiba pentandra. Kapok tree; the flossy down surrounding the seeds used for 

 stuffing pillows and cushions. 



*Cocos nucifera. The fiber of the husk, called "coir" in commerce, so much 

 used for sennit and cordage by the Samoans and other Pacific Islanders, is little 

 used in Guam, enormous quantities which could be utilized going to waste each 

 year. 



Erythrina indica. Called "gabgab" by the natives; bark yields a fiber suitable 

 for cordage; not utilized in Guam. 



Gossypium spp. Cotton was introduced about 1866 by the Sociedad Agricola de 

 la Conception, and laborers were brought from Japan to cultivate it, but the proj- 

 ect proved a failure. It is now found in places by the wayside growing as a weed. 



