192 USEFUL PLANTS OF GUAM. 



Asthma herb. See Euphorbia pilulifera. 

 Asuncion (Guam). See Asclepias curassavica. 

 Ata (Hindu). See Annona squamosa. : 



Atamosco rosea. Zephyr lily. 



Family Amaryllidaceae. 

 Local names. — Nardo (Guam); Fairy lily (United States). 



A bulbous plant of tropical American origin, with solitary 6-parted rose-colored 

 flowers. Bulb globose, 7.6 to 10 cm. thick; leaves linear, contemporaneous with the 

 flower; perianth regular, about 2.5 cm. long and 4 cm.' broad; spathe 2-fid at the 

 tip; anthers versatile; ovary stalked, ovules many, superimposed; seeds black, flat; 

 stigma 3-fld. 



A beautiful flower, cultivated widely. I found it escaped, growing in the Plaza de 

 Magallanes, Agana, and transplanted it to my garden, where it bloomed monthly. 

 References : 

 Atamosco rosea (Lindl.) Greene, Pitt. 3:188. 1897. 

 Zephyranthes rosea Lindl. Bot. Peg. 10: t. 821. 1824. 

 Atbahakat (Guam). See Ocimum basilicum and 0. canum. 

 Ateate (Samoa). See Stemmodontia biflora. 

 Atgodon ( Guam ) . See Gossypium arboreum and G. barbadense. 

 Atg-odon de Manila. See Ceiba pentandra. 

 Atis (Guam, Philippines). See Annona squamosa. 

 Atis-aniti (Guam). See Meibomia gangetica. 

 Atole (Guam, Mexico, Cuba). 



A gruel made by boiling pounded maize. In Peru it is called "mazamorra." 

 Atoto (Tahiti). See Euphorbia atoto. 

 Auricularia auricula-judae. See under Fungi. 

 'Aute (Samoa). See Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. 

 'Ava-pui (Samoa). See Zinziber zerumbet. 



Averrhoa carambola. Carambola. Plate xxxvii. 



Family Oxalidaceae. 



Local names. — Bilimbines (Guam); Carambola, Balimbing (Philippines); Coro-, 

 mandel gooseberry (India); Kumurunga (Bengal). 



A small tree bearing an oval, angular, translucent, edible fruit. Leaves alternate, 

 odd-pinnate, with 4 or 5 pairs of leaflets; leaflets alternate, ovate-acuminate, entire, 

 stalked; flowers fragrant, small, ribes-like, rose-purple or magenta, growing in 

 crowded clusters, which give to the tree a showy appearance when in full bloom; 

 racemes growing from the bark of young and old branches (caulifloral), or from the 

 axils of the leaves; petals 5; stamens usually 10, only 5 of them with anthers. The 

 fruit has a thin, yellow, smooth skin. It is longitudinally ribbed or angled, so that 

 a cross section has the shape of a three, four, or five-angled star. It contains a clear 

 watery pulp, astringent when green and tasting like sorrel or green gooseberries, but 

 pleasantly acid when ripe, or even sweet, with an agreeable fruity flavor, and a strong 

 perfume like that of a quince. The leaves and younger branches are irritable, clos- 

 ing and drooping somewhat like those of the sensitive mimosas and oxalids when 

 the tree is shaken or suddenly shocked. The leaves are affected by light very much 

 like those of many acacias, which close and apparently go to sleep when the sun 

 disappears and awake when it shines again. The tree is readily propagated from the 

 seed. It is long-lived and a constant bearer. In Guam it produces several crops a 

 year. It grows near dwellings, on the sites of abandoned ranches, and by roadsides, 

 but it is not abundant. The natives make preserves of it, but these are somewhat 



