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PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XIV, October I960 
in Ponape. Seeds of this Ponapean endemic have 
been germinated in Honolulu, and it is hoped 
that one of these at least will be male, for the 
male inflorescence of this species has never 
been collected. 
Glassman (1952: 111-112) thinks that some 
of the coastal species of Pandanus may be forms 
of P. dubius Spr., in reference to the numerous 
species described by Martelli, Kanehira, and 
Hosokawa. Probably the only "form” of P. du- 
bius which might be found in Ponape would 
be its close relative, P. tetrodon (Gaud.) Balf. 
f., which has recently been collected in Kapinga- 
marangi Atoll (S. 1940, male; S. 1941, female). 
P. dubius , though frequent elsewhere in Mi- 
cronesia (Palau, Guam, Saipan, Truk, etc.) has 
apparently not been found in Ponape, though 
it occurs on Nukuoro Atoll to the south (S. 
1952). The coastal species found in Ponape are 
manifestly of Section Pandanus. while P. dubius 
and P. tetrodon are of Section Hombronia. P. 
tetrodon is not found in Ponape, either. It is no 
doubt true, as Glassman and Fosberg state, that 
the great majority of the "species” are horticul- 
tural forms; but that they are horticultural forms 
of P. tectorius has not yet been shown. Current 
research on this problem may eventually fur- 
nish a solution. 
CYPERACEAE: Scirpodendron ghaeri (Gaertn.) 
Merr. This enormous sedge occurs in standing 
water or mud near streams. It Is stemless with 
erect (but eventually drooping) scabrous leaves 
up to 14 ft. long, about 2 in. wide, with serrate 
margins of small crowded teeth 0.5 mm. long, 
and less than 1 mm. apart. The inflorescence is 
a racemose spike of bracteate heads, on a sharply 
triangular stalk 60 X 1.8 cm., subtended by a 
leaflike bract about 8 ft. long. The nutlets are 
1.3 X 1 cm., ellipsoid and strongly ribbed, con- 
taining a single globose gray-black seed 0.7 cm. 
long. (Net District, banks of Tawensokola 
River, 17 April 1957, S. 1817.) 
REFERENCES 
Anderson, D. 1951. The plants of Arno Atoll, 
Marshall Islands. Atoll Res. Bull. 7 : i. 
Fosberg, F. R. 1955. Northern Marshall Islands 
expedition, 1951-1952. Atoll Res. Bull. 39: 
11 . 
Glassman, S. F. 1952. The flora of Ponape. 
Bishop Mus. Bull. 209. 
— 1953. New plant records from the East- 
ern Caroline Islands, with a comparative 
study of the native plant names. Pacif. Sci. 
8(3): 291-31L 
Hosokawa, T. 1937. A preliminary account of 
the phytogeographic study on Truk. Biogeogr. 
Soc. Japan Bull. 7(11): 171-255. 
Kanehira, R. 1935. An enumeration of Mi- 
cronesian plants. Dep. Agric. Kyushu Univ. 
J. 4(6): 237-464. 
St. John, H. 1951. Plant records from Aur Atoll 
and Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands, Microne- 
sia. Pacif. Sci. 5(3): 279-286. 
Stone, B. C 1959. The flora of Namonuito and 
the Hall Islands. Pacif. Sci. 13: 88-104. 
Webster, G. L. 1956. Studies of the Euphorb- 
iaceae, Phyllanthoideae II. The American 
species of Phyllanthus described by Linnaeus. 
J. Arnold Arbor. 37: 1-14. 
YUNCKER, T. G. 1959. Piperaceae of Microne- 
sia. Bishop Mus. Occ Pap. 22(8) : 92. 
