atoll research bulletin no. 392 the flora of - Smithsonian Institution ...

Guettarda speciosa L.
iut, yut (N); te uri (K); pua, puapua, uli (T)
"guettarda"
Indigenous. Trop. Asia to the Pacific Is. Small spreading tree, 4 to 15 m high,
with thick branchlets; leaves, 10 to 25 cm long and 6 to 18 cm wide, opposite, broad-
obovate, acute-subacuminate to obtuse, rounded or emarginate, base obtuse to subcordate,
rather dark green above, paler and usually puberulent beneath, with 7 to 10 pairs of
prominent lateral nerves; petioles, 2.5 to 4 cm long, pubescent, leaving large scars on the
twigs when they fall; stipules, small, ovate, leaf-like, at nodes between leaf-pair petiole
bases; inflorescences, compact, forked, many-flowered cymose clusters on axillary
peduncles, 5 to 10 cm long, usually forming after leaf-fall; calyx, about 1 cm long,
cupulate, truncate, pubescent; corolla, tubular, 2.5 to 5 cm long and 2 to 3 cm across the
limb, 5- to 6-petaled, dull or yellowish white, fragrant, villous within; flowers dimor-
phic, some with short styles not reaching the anthers, others with exserted styles; fruit, 2
to 3 cm in diameter, a woody, depressed-globose, 4- to 9-chambered drupe with a
circular rim at apex, whitish, pinkish or green when ripe, faintly ribbed, usually 4- to 6-
seeded. Occasional in woods and thickets on coastal strip, but less common in forest on
plateau near escarpment; common in regrowth in older strip-mined areas; planted in
home gardens. Straight pieces of timber make excellent house rafters and used for canoe
parts and handicrafts; bark scraped and mixed with other plant extracts, eg., Scaevola
taccada (emet) and Cordia subcordata (eongo) to produce a medicine for beriberi; leaves
used to parcel food and as plates; flowers used in garlands and decorations, often after
soalung in coconut oil; flowers considered the best for scenting coconut oil; juice from
flowers used as a deodorant; flowers and young leaves soaked in water to make a love
potion, which is drunk by women and which when sweating, makes men go crazy
(reportedly learned from I-Kiribati); juice of flowers mixed with coconut juice used to
keep hair healthy. 2, 3(58759), 5(70), 6, 7(27806).
Hedyotis corymbosa (L.) Lam.
syn. Oldenlandia corymbosa L.
Recent introduction. Pantropical. Rare. Much-branched, annual herb, up to 20 cm
high, with slender ascending or erect, bluntly 4-angled stems; leaves, 1 to 4 cm long and
1.5 to 8 mm wide, opposite, linear-oblong or narrowly elliptic, acute at both ends, blade
pale beneath, midrib prominent, chartaceous, subsessile or petiole very short; stipules
fused to petioles; inflorescences, 2- to 8-flowered axillary cymes which are shorter than
the leaves; pedicels, 4 to 8 mm long, slender; calyx, about 2 mm long, 4-lobed, not
exceeding ovary; corolla, about 2 lnln long, white or faintly pinkish-purplish; stamens
inserted just above the base of the tube; fruit, about 2 mm by 2 mm, a 2-celled capsule,
cat Q-+wlthm~dehiscent
by valves at apex. Weed in waste places and ruderal habitats. 4(140N), 5(143),
6, 8(9560).