368 USEFUL PLANTS OF GUAM. 



Sago. See Coelococcus amicarum and Cycas circinalis. 

 Sagu (Guam). See Maranta arundinacea. 

 Saguerus gamuto. Same as Saguerus pinnatus. 



Saguerus pinnatus. Black-fiber palm. 



Family Phoenicaceae. 

 Local names. — Cabo negro (Guam, Philippines); Gomuto ( Malay Archipelago ) . 



A large palm with unequally pinnatisect leaves and a stout trunk, which is clothed 

 above with the fibrous sheaths of dead leaves. Segments of the leaves grouped in 

 fascicles of 4 or 5, linear, sword-shaped, 2-lobed, or variously dentate at the apex, 

 white or silvery beneath; mid-veins prominent; nerves parallel; margins recurved at 

 the base, and one or both of them auricled, the lower auricle the longer; petiole 

 plano-convex with spiny margin; sheaths short, reticulate-fibrous, the margin cre- 

 nate; spadix large, with short, reflexed peduncle and elongated, slender, pendulous 

 branches; spathes numerous, attached to the peduncle, deciduous; bracts and bract- 

 lets broad; flowers brownish, fruit a yellowish brown 3-seeded drupe, of the size of 

 a small apple, very acrid. The stem, when young, is entirely covered with sheaths 

 of fallen leaves, and black horse-hair like fibers, which issue in great abundance 

 from their margins; but as the tree increases in age, these drop off, leaving a colum- 

 nar stem or trunk. In the Malay Archipelago the thickest fibers are used by the 

 natives as styles for writing on other palms. The finest fibers are known in Eastern 

 commerce as "gomuto" or "ejoo" fiber, and are much used for making strong cord- 

 age, particularly for cables and standing rigging of vessels, whence the name "cabo 

 negro," applied to the tree in the Philippines. They are not pliable enough for 

 running rigging or for fine cordage. They need no preparation but spinning or 

 twisting. No ropes of vegetable fiber are so imperishable when subjected to 

 repeated wetting as those made of cabo negro fiber. At the base of the leaves there 

 is a woolly material used in calking ships and stuffing cushions. 



The saccharine sap of this palm in the Malay Archipelago is used for making toddy 

 and sugar. This is obtained in great abundance by cutting the spadices of the flowers 

 in the same way as those of the coconut palm are cut in Guam for the same purpose. 

 (See Cocos nucifera). When fresh the sap is like sweet cider; by fermentation it 

 becomes intoxicating, and is then distilled into a rum or brandy resembling the aguar- 

 diente of Guam. 



The cabo negro has been introduced into Guam from the Philippines. It grows 

 well, but it has been planted in only one or two spots on the island. At Aniguag, a 

 village between Agana and Punta Piti, there is a fine specimen on the inland side of 

 the road. 



References: 

 Saguerus pinnatus Wurrnb, Verh. Batav. Gen. 1: 351. 1779. 

 Arenga saccharifera Labill. Mem. Inst. Par. 4: 209 1801 (ex Ind. Kew.). 

 Saguilala (Philippines). See Cordyline terminalis and Phyllaurea variegata. 

 Saguing (Philippines). See Musa paradisiaca. 

 Sagus amicarum. Same as Coelococcus amicarum. 

 Sakate (Guam). General name applied to grasses and foreign plants. 

 Salai maya (Philippines). "Sparrows-nest." See Dactyloctenium aegyptiacum. 

 Sambag, Sambagui, Sambalagui (Philippines). See Tamarindus indica. 

 Sampagas (Philippines). See Jasminum sambac. 

 Sampagita (Guam). See Jasminum sambac. 

 Sampalok (Philippines). See Tamarindus indica. 

 Sandalwood, false. See Ximenia amencana. 

 Sandalwood, red. See Adenanthera pavonina. 



