Note 7 — Mat Materials.

Botanical.—It is a question among botanists whether the pandan known as sabutan is a variety of the common sea-shore pandan (P. tectorius) or whether it has sufficient distinctive characteristics to entitle it to be considered as a separate species (P. sabotan). Botanists have not as yet succeeded in securing a fruit of this pandan, which could settle the question, and it is very doubtful whether the fruit will ever be found.7 Prof. Ugolino Martelli of Florence, Italy, an authority on pandans, considers sabutan to be Pandanus tectorius var. sinensis. This classification is for the present accepted, as most evidence is in favor of such determination and in this paper sabutan is therefore considered to be a variety of the common pandan, the chief change in which, through generations of planting, has been in the production of a leaf stronger, thinner, and of finer texture than that of the parent stock.