DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 187 



Goun (Burm.). See Boelimeria. 

 Grama China. Muhleribergia pungens. 

 Grass fibers. 



While fibrous substance is extracted from many species of Graminecv, the family of 

 true grasses, the term is frequently applied to fibers derived from plants that are 

 grasses in no sense of the word, and it is therefore misleading. Examples: "China 

 grass," the fiber from a tall shrub ( Boelimeria) ; "Sisal grass," the fiber from a fleshy- 

 leaved Agave, and " Silk grass," which may mean Bromelia fiber, or almost anything. 



Grass tree. 



Resin , Xanthorrhcea australis ; dwarf , X. minor-, both of Dr. Guilfoyle's 



Australasian lists. 



Grewia asiatica et sp. div. 



This genus of Tiliacece comprises shrubs or small trees that are natives of the trop- 

 ical and subtropical regions of Asia and Africa; also found in the Malayan Archi- 

 pelago. The species that have been recognized as fiber producing are as follows : 



G. adatica (Ind. and Ceyl.). Bast fiber much employed in rope making. 



G. laevigata (Ind., Malay Is., Austr., and tropical Afr.). The fiber is used for cord- 

 age in Kanara. 



G. microcos (Ind.). Lisboa includes this species in his list of fibrous plants ( Watt). 



G. oppositifolia (N. W. Himalayas, Ind.). A coarse fiber, made from the bark, is 

 used for ropes and nets. "It is neither very strong nor durable nor to be had in any 

 quantity" (Trans. Agri. Hort. Soc. Ind.). Has been employed in paper making. 



G. occidentalis (S. Afr.). Kaffir hemp. "A white fiber of great strength extracted 

 by retting, and much used by the Kaffirs" (Spon). 



G. scaorophylla (Ind.). Said to yield a fiber suitable for ropes. 



G. iilicefolid (Ind. and Ceyl.). The bark yields a cordage -.fiber. Routledge 

 describes the fiber as "strong, harsh, wiry, and hard." Would not pay to export it 

 for paper making. I 



Gru gru; also written Groo groo and Gri gri (W. Ind.). See Acrocomia. 

 There is confusion in the use of these names. The Kew Mus. Guide gives Astro- 

 caryam aculeatum as the Gri-gri, and Acrocomia sclerocarpa as the Gru-gru. 



Guamara (Mex.). See Bromelia pinguin. 



Guano yarey (Cuba). See reference under Thrinax argentea. 



Guaxinduba. 



The bark of this Brazilian tree, species not identified, when beaten yields a kind 

 of cloth which has been used by some of the Bolivian tribes as a dress material. 



Guay ubera americana. 



Included in Dr. Niederlein's list of Argentina species. I have not seen the fiber. 



Guayuco (clothing). Colombia. See Gour atari. 

 Guazuma tomentosa. 



Endogen. Sterculiacew. A small tree, 20 to 25 feet. 



Tropical America and India. 



This species is known to the French colonists of the West Indies as Orme d'Amer- 

 ique, and in India and Jamaica as bastard cedar. Dr. Roxburgh experimented with 

 the fiber of this species, and found it to show considerable strength, has been more 

 recently examined and thought, with cultivation, to afford a good cordage fiber. In 



