DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 343 



Dillenius, whose only species is included in the Linngean genus under the binomial 



name P. mexicanum. This species, although since referred to Hymenocallis, should 



be considered as the type of Pancratium and the latter name retained for the group 



to which its type species belongs. 



Pandan (Philippines). See Pandanus tectorius. 



Pandanaceae. • Screwpine family. 



Local names (generic). — Palma (Spanish); Fala (Samoa); Hala, Lauhala 

 (Hawaii); Ara, Rau-ara (Rarotonga); Pandan (Java); Vakoiina, Hofa ( Mada- 

 gascar); Pahong, Kafo Aggak (Guam); Pangdang (Philippines). 

 Much confusion exists in the nomenclature of the Pandanaceae, owing to insuffi- 

 cient material in herbaria. In this genus the male and the female flowers are 

 borne on separate plants. The leaves are long and narrow, tough and leathery, and j 

 are armed along the keel of the midrib and on the edges with sharp recurved 

 prickles. They are arranged in triple spiral series toward the ends of the branches, 

 forming dense tufts or crowns; it is from their resemblance to the leaves of the pine- 

 apple that the name of the screw pine is derived. The trees are remarkable for their 

 prop-like aerial roots, with large, cup-like spongioles on their tips. The male inflor- 

 escence consists of a compound spadix, made up of a number of short catkin-like 

 spikes, each of which bears an immense number of little naked flowers with indefi- 

 nite stamens. The female inflorescence is a globular or oblong head consisting of 

 very numerous, closely packed ovaries, each containing a single ovule. The fruit 

 consists of a number of wedge-shaped clusters of drupes, congregated into oval or 

 cone-like heads. a 



At least three species of Pandanus occur in Guam, the most important of which, 

 the "aggak," is represented by only one sex, and must be propagated by cuttings. 

 It is probably Pandanus tectorius Parkinson (P. littoralis Jungh. ); but it can not be 

 identified with certainty, as there are many closely allied species. 

 Pandanus dubius. Knob-fruited screwpine. 



Local names. — Pahong, Pahon (Guam); Pajon (Spanish); Bangcoang bondok 

 (Philippines); Uom (New Lauenburg group). 

 A tree growing to the height of 3 to 7 meters, with very broad, stiff, long, coarse 

 leaves, which are crowded at the ends of the branches. The drupes composing the 

 large head each terminate in a point at the apex, giving to the fruit' the appearance 

 of the head of an enormous Fijian war club, studded with many blunt projections. 

 The leaves are not strong. They are normally stiff, but may be made more flexible 

 by heat, and may be woven into coarse mats, but they are inferior in every way to 

 those of the aggak. The kernels of the seeds are sometimes eaten by the natives as 

 a relish, but they are not a food staple. Collected in Guam by Chamisso and by 

 Gaudichaud, by the latter of whom it was named Hombronia edulis. 



This species occurs only east of the Moluccas. It has been collected on Mioko and 

 Kerawara, of the New Lauenburg group, Bismarck Archipelago. & 



References: 

 Pandanus dubius Spreng. Syst. 3 : 897. 1826. 

 [ Pandanus fragrans. Fragrant-fruited screwpine. Plate lx. 



Local names. — Kafo, Kafu, Kafok, Cafo, Cafu (Guam). 

 A small tree, 3 to 7 meters high, with glossy, green leaves having no textile value. 

 In open places the trunk is short and soon begins to branch dichotomously ; in the 

 forest it sometimes grows vertically 4 meters before branching. (PI. VIII. ) Numer- 

 ous straight aerial roots grow from the trunk up to a distance of 90 to 120 cm. from 

 the base, extending obliquely downward to the ground, serving as sustaining props. 

 (PI. XXIII. ) These roots as well as the trunk and limbs are whitish or ash-colored, 



a Lindley & Moore, Treasury of Botany, vol. 2, p. 840, 1899. 

 b Warburg, Beitrage, Engler's Bot. Jahrb., vol. 13, p. 257, 1890. 



