376 USEFUL PLANTS OF GUAM. 



Solanum tuberosum. Potato. Irish potato. 



The potato can not be successfully cultivated in Guam. 

 References: 

 Solanum tuberosum L. Sp. PI. 1 : 184. 1753. 

 Sopbora tomentosa. Seacoast laburnum. 



Family Fabaceae. 



Local names. — Bafigil, Tambalisa, Kabaikabai, Kauai, Ya bag (Philippines); 

 Kau ni alewa, "Woman's Tree" (Fiji); Mudu-murunga (Ceylon). 

 A shrub or small tree growing on the strand with gray velvety branches, yellow 

 flowers, and necklace-like pods with joints separated by narrow necks. Leaves odd- 

 pinnate with 7 or 8 pairs of leaflets, which are shortly stalked and often alternate, 



4 cm. long, broadly oval, obtuse and rounded at both ends, pubescent; flowers rather 

 large, pedicels as long as the calyx, jointed near the top, rather closely arranged in 

 stout, erect, stalked racemes about 15 cm. long; needle-like bracts deciduous; calyx 

 somewhat inflated, velvety, segments very small; pod covered with velvety down, 



5 to 15 cm. long, long-stalked; seeds nearly globular, pale brown, 9.5 mm. in diameter. 

 This plant is not common in Guam. It grows sparingly on the windward side of 



the island on the sandy beach between Pago and Talofofo. It is widely spread on 

 tropical shores. The natives had no vernacular name for it and said that it had 

 recently appeared on the island. 



All parts of the plant, but especially the bark of the root and the seeds, are bitter 

 and yield a poisonous alkaloid called sophorine. In the Malay Archipelago the pul- 

 verized seeds are used as a specific for dysentery and cholera and as an antidote after 

 having eaten poisonous marine animals. Padre Blanco says that the seeds are purg- 

 ing. ('■ Two of them are almost too drastic for a dose in tertian fever. They are a 

 common remedy among the natives of the Philippines for disorders of the stomach 

 and were at one time a popular remedy for cholera morbus. 

 References: 

 Sophora tomentosa L. Sp. PL 1: 373. 1753. 

 Sorrel. See Oxalis cornieulata. 

 Soursop. See Annona muricata. 

 Spanish needles. See Glossogyne tenuifolia. 

 Spider-flower. See Cleome inscosa. 

 Spider lily. See Pancratium littorale. 



Spiderwort. See Commelina nudiflora and Zygomenes capitata. 

 Spike-rush, capitate. See Eleocharis capitata. 

 Spike-rusb, plantain-like. See Eleocharis plantaginoidea. 

 Spur pepper. See Capsicinn frutescens. 

 Spurge. General name for the species of Euphorbia. 

 Star-grass, golden. See Hypoxis aurea. 

 Starch-yielding plants. 



Among the plants yielding starch are: 



Alocasia indica and A. macrorbiza. — Piga, acrid taro. 



Artocarpus communis. — Lemae and dugdug, breadfruit. 



Cacara erosa. — Hikamas, yam-bean. 



Caladium colocasia. — Suni, taro. 



Canna indica. — Mango halom-tano. 



Cycas circinalis. — Federico or fadang. 



Dioscorea spp. — Dago, nika, and gado, yams. 



Ipomoea batatas. — Kamute, sweet potatoes. 



Manibot manibot. — Mandiuka, cassava plant. 



Musa paradisiaca. — Chotda, bananas and plantains. 



«FloradeFilipinas, p. b29, 1837. 



