444 
FOXWORTHY. 
PALM2E. 
Many palms have steins which, at least in their outer part, are very 
hard and strong. These palm stems are admirably suited for certain 
uses, as the flooring of native houses, the fashioning of bows and carrying 
poles, the making of ornamental pillars, etc. In Borneo the nibong palm 
( Oncosperma spp.) is the chief flooring material for both houses and 
boats. Several species of Livistona are used in the Philippines under the 
name of palma brava. The use of palm stems is usually purely local, 
although occasionally small amounts are sent to Europe for use in cabinet 
work. Because of the comparative infrequence of their commercial use 
and because their structure is of the type so well known in monocotyledons, 
it is not necessary to further consider them here. 
GRAMINEiE. 
Bamboos of various sorts are the main reliance in many kinds of native 
structures, but their use is local. It is not customary to raise them for 
export, and their structure is very generally recognized. 
DICOTYLEDONS. 
CASUARINACEflE. 
Sapwood and heartwood not sharply differentiated, the color becoming 
gradually darker from sap to heart. Vessels moderately large, and often 
in radial or oblique rows. Wavy, concentric lines of wood parenchyma. 
Pith-rays small to very large ; the large ones of very infrequent occurrence 
in Casuarina equisetifolia, but very general in the other species. Wood 
fibers very thick-walled and making up most of the mass of the wood. 
Casuarina equisetifolia Forst. Plate XXII, fig. 3. Agoho (Phil.) ; ru (Bor- 
neo, Malaya) ; eliouk (Tam.) ; tinyu (Burma) ; ironwood. 
On sandy shores throughout -the eastern tropics, where its resemblance 
in habit to the pines and firs makes it very marked. 
Very hard and heavy or very heavy; difficult to work. Sapwood and 
heartwood differing in color only in degree of brown. A very durable 
construction timber and, perhaps, the best firewood in the world. 
Phil. Woods 370, fig. 38; Gard. 68; Gamb. 665; Boulg. 233; Blits 12, 23-25; 
Wiesner 2:875-879; Becc. 583. 
Casuarina sumatrana Miq. (ru ronan (M. ), ironwood), and other species are 
occasionally found in the Orient. They differ from the preceding in having very 
large and distinct pith-rays. They are, consequently, better suited for cabinet 
work. 
Blits 13; Bargagli-Petrucei 9, tab. IV; Becc. 583. 
