DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 253 



above the middle; seeds about the size of an English walnut, testa thinly fleshy, 

 crustaceous within; endosperm copious, fleshy and farinaceous; embryo small, axile. 



The cycads belong to a group of plants wonderfully interesting on account of the 

 position they occupy intermediate between the flowering plants and cryptogams. 



An account of their remarkable mode of fecundation has already been given. « 



Both the fruit and the starchy pith of the trunks of many Cycadaceae are utilized 

 for food. In Japan and in the Moluccas sago is obtained from the pith of Cycas 

 revoluta and from that of Cycas circinalis; plants of the genus Encephalartos yield the 

 "caff re-bread" of Africa; Dioon edule produces the "cabeza de chamal" of Mexico; 

 in Central America, Florida, and the West Indies a kind of arrowroot is prepared 

 from species of Zamia, and in Australia the nuts of Cycas media and of several species 

 of Macrozamia are eaten after having been pounded, macerated for several days in 

 water, and roasted. A gum resembling tragacanth exudes from wounds in Cycas 

 circinalis and other Cycadaceae. 



In Guam the seeds of Cycas circinalis, called "fadang" or "fadan" in the vernacu- 

 lar of the island, and "bitogo" or "federico" by the Filipinos and Spaniards, were an 

 important food staple of the aboriginal inhabitants. As in other members of the 

 family the trunk contains sago, but in Guam this has never been utilized. As pre- 

 pared now by the natives, the endocarp of the seed is either grated or broken into 

 small pieces and soaked for several days in water, which must be changed from time 

 to time. When fresh the seeds are so poisonous that the water in which they are 

 steeped is fatal to chickens if drunk by them. The poisonous principle contained in 

 the seeds has not yet been ascertained. After having been thoroughly soaked the 

 fadang is dried in the sun and put aside for use. In preparing it for food the natives 

 grind it on a stone slab (metate) with a cylindrical stone rolling-pin (mano), mix it 

 with water, make it into a thin cake, and bake it on a slab or griddle, like a tortilla 

 of maize. If eaten continuously for any length of time it is injurious. The natives 

 now resort to it only when maize is scarce, or in times of famine following hurricanes, 

 when almost all other fruits are destroyed. In the old letter books at Agafia I find 

 copies of reports of several Spanish governors to the captain-general of the Philip- 

 pines, in which they complain of the unwholesomeness of this food and the injurious 

 effects it has upon the natives. As far as my personal experience goes it is palatable 

 and not injurious if eaten occasionally and in small quantities, although it is inferior 

 to maize in every respect. Starch is sometimes made of the seed, but this is not 

 very white and has a disagreeable odor. It is good for paste, however, and is avoided 

 by insects. These seeds are used as food in the southern islands of the Philippine 

 group, and the bracts and fruit are an excellent vulnerary. 



Cycas circinalis is abundant in the woods of Guam, especially in rocky places. On 

 the shores of Orote Peninsula, at the entrance to the bay of San Luis de Apra, the 

 beautiful fern-like crests of this plant are distinctly visible to those on board ships 

 entering the harbor and lend a peculiar charm to the landscape. Though usually 

 only 1.2 to 1.5 meters high, the trunks reach the height of three meters in certain 

 localities. On the promontory of As Kiroga, near Talofofo, the growth of Cycas 

 trees, with their cylindrical scarred trunks and luxuriant fronds, strongly recall ideal 

 pictures of the vegetation of the Carboniferous age, in which the Cycadaceae formed 

 so important a part. 

 References: 



Cycas circinalis L. Sp. PL 2: 1188. 1753. 

 Cyclophorus adnascens. Creeping fern. Plate xlvii. 



Family Polypodiaceae. 



A creeping fern, with small, simple fronds, usually found growing on the trunks of 

 trees. Rhizome firm, but slender, the scales linear, deciduous; fronds dimorphous, 



a Page 71. 



