16,4 McGregor: Some Features of the Philippine Ornis 375 
etc., it will be found that practically all the species nov/ found in the 
Archipelago that are of the greatest importance in the economy of the 
native, whether for food, for condiments, for clothing, for dyes, for 
ornamental purposes, and very many for medicinal purposes, have originated 
outside of the Philippines, and have purposely been introduced at one 
time or another. Not a single important food plant or fruit tree has 
originated in the Archipelago, but all have been introduced.^® 
In order to emphasize the statements in the preceding par- 
agraph I have selected the names of one hundred well-known 
species from Merrill’s Flora of Manila,®® not one of which is a 
native of the Islands. All of these are useful in one way or 
another and have been purposely introduced. 
GRAMINE^ 
Zea mays L. ; corn, maize, mais. Introduced by the Spaniards at an 
early date; a native of tropical America; extensively cultivated for food. 
Saccharum officinarum L.; sugar cane, caha dulce, tuba. Probably a 
native of tropical Asia; introduction into the Philippines prehistoric; 
a source of sugar. 
Androjmgon zizanioides Urb. ; vetiver, moras or raiz de mora. A native 
of India, widely distributed in the Philippines and certainly introduced; its 
aromatic roots yield an essential oil. 
Oryza sativa L.; rice, arroz, palay. A native of tropical Asia; introduc- 
tion into the Philippines prehistoric; cultivated throughout the Philippines 
for the grain and the straw. There are many varieties cultivated in the 
Islands. This species is nowhere wild, but there are two or three wild 
species of the genus Oryza in the Philippines. 
Bambusa vulgaris Schrad.; bamboo, cauayan quiling. Widely distributed 
in the Philippines; probably not a native, but of prehistoric introduction ; 
used for general construction purposes. 
Bambusa blumeana Schultes f. ; “true bamboo,” cauayan totoo. Common 
throughout the Islands; its introduction prehistoric, a native of Malay 
Peninsula and Archipelago; the bamboo most used for building material. 
PALM^ 
Cocos nucifera L. ; coconut, coco, niog. Cultivated throughout the 
Islands at suitable elevations. The original home of the coco palm is not 
definitely known, but it is certainly not a native of the Philippine Islands.®^ 
Its introduction was prehistoric. This palm is a source of food, drink, 
oil, thatch, and firewood. 
Areca catechu L. ; betel-nut palm, bunga. Cultivated, of prehistoric 
introduction; probably a native of India. The nut is chewed with lime 
and leaves of Piper hetle as a stimulant. 
'®Ibid. 169. 
A Flora of Manila. Bureau of Science, Manila (1912). 
®"See Cook, O. F., Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 7 (1901) 298 and 14 (1910) 
271, favoring the American origin of the coco. Beccari, 0., Philip. Journ. 
Sci. § C 12 (1917) 27, opposes Cook’s theories. 
