DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 331 



Naunau (Samoa) . See Carinla herbacea. 



Neckera. See Mosses. 



Negro coffee. See Cassia occidentalis. 



Nephrodium dissectum. Same as Dryopteris dissecta. See Ferns. 



Nephrodium parasiticum. Same as Dryopteris parasitica. See Ferns. 



Nephrolepis. See Ferns. 



Nerium oleander. 



The well-known oleander, an introduced plant cultivated by the natives for the 

 sake of its flowers and called in Guam "adelfa" or "rosa laurel." 



References: 



Nerium oleander L. Sp. PI. 1: 209. 1753. 

 Nervilia aragoana. Water-root. 



Family Orchidaceae. 



Local names. — Seyafhagon or Sedyaihagon, Maisaulu, "single head," (Guam). 

 An orchid closely allied to Pogonia, collected by Gaudichaud in Guam and named 

 by him for Arago, the draftsman of Freycinet's expedition. Leaves subrotund- 

 cordate, repand, of uniform color, many-nerved, smooth, plicate when young, with 

 deep basal sinus and acute apex, usually solitary, sometimes in pairs, rising from a 

 sphteroid tuber about 12 mm. or more in diameter; flowers arranged in form of a 

 raceme on an erect leafless scape 17 to 30 cm. high, greenish, shortly pedicelled, at 

 first erect, afterwards nodding; perigonium half-open, persistent, divisions lanceolate- 

 linear, acuminate, subequal; median lobe of the three-lobed lip broader than the 

 lateral, obtusely crenulate, slightly villous within; stigma broader and lower than in 

 Pogonia, column elongated. 



The natives of Guam frequently chew the firm, fleshy, juicy tuber as they walk 

 through the woods, to quench their thirst, especially in the northern part of the 

 island, where there are no springs nor streams. This species is figured in the Botany 

 of the Uranie. A detailed description is given by Blume in Flora Javse, Orchidaceae, 

 p. 130, tab. 56, under the name of Pogonia nervilia. 



.Nervilia ovata Gaudich. is a species collected by Gaudichaud on the adjacent island 

 of Rota, or Luta. 



References: 

 Nervilia aragoana Gaudich. Bot. Freyc. Voy. 422. t. 35. 1826, 

 Nervilia ovata. See under Nervilia aragoana. 



Nete or Neti (Guam). See Xiphagrostis floridula: also under Grasses. 

 Nettle family. See Urticaceae. 

 Ngatae (Samoa). See Erythrina indica. 

 Nickernut. See Gruilandina crista. 

 Nicotiana tabacum. Tobacco. 



Family Solanaceae. 



Local names. — Chupa (Guam); Tabaco (Spanish). 

 •Tobacco was introduced into Guam by the Jesuit missionaries very shortly after 

 their arrival. The natives soon became very fond of it, learning to smoke the leaves in 

 the form of cigars, and some of them chewing it either alone or in combination with 

 their areca nut and betel pepper. So popular was its use that the wages of the natives 

 working for the missionaries and for the government were paid in tobacco leaves, as 

 the archives at Agana will show. 



Though it is cultivated in a variety of situations, on the lowlands, on the coral plat- 

 form or mesa, and in alluvial valleys, yet the natives recognize that the best results 

 are obtained from tobacco planted on recently cleared land. The regions known as 

 Santa Rosa, Yigo, Yona, Mataguag, Finagudyog, and Maga are all celebrated for their 



