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Phyllanthus mariannensis (CHamorro: CHosgu or Åbas duendes) is a species of plant in the family Phyllanthaceae. It is one of approximately 16 vascular plants endemic to the island of Guam.

Description
Phyllanthus mariannensis is a small shrubby tree, rarely up to 5 meters, with trunks seldom over 10-20 cm diameter.


 * Leaves: glabrous, elliptical or oblong-elliptical simple leaves are 5-15 cm long and 3-8 cm broad. Leaves are arranged alternate distichous on the stems by short petioles (1-3 mm).  New leaves are red or deep scarlet, producing a crown with striking appearance when numerous; mature leaves are medium green, but more pale underneath.
 * Wood: fine grained, tough, and red tinted.
 * Flowers: Phyllanthus mariannensis is a monoecious tree, with separate male and female flowers on the same plant. Flowers are miniscule, and color pale yellow-green.  Female calyx is longer than the male's.  Calyx consists of 2 larger and 3 smaller sepals, but no petals.  Male flowers have 3 short-columnar anthers.  Female flowers have a mostly 5-locular glabrous ovary, with styles forming a slender subulate column.
 * Fruits: Fruits are globose capsules, or slightly pentagonal, glabrous, with 5 (or sometimes 6) loculi. Immature capsules are light green, becoming yellow when mature, then dark brown.  Each of the dehiscent locules contains 2 bright orange or orange-brown seeds.  Fruits are said to resemble a mallow fruit or Dutch cheese.

Taxonomy
Both Phyllanthus mariannensis, which is endemic to Guam, and Phyllanthus senyavinianus,which is endemic to the Caroline Islands, were formerly identified as Glochidion marianum Müll.Arg. However, a 2006 reevaluation recommended that the genus Glochidion be dissolved and subsumed under the broadened genus Phyllanthus. A 2011 reorganization based on molecular phylogenetic studies and morphological characteristics proposed separating the two species, naming Guam's species Phyllanthus mariannensis and the Caroline Islands' species Phyllanthus senyavinianus.

Phyllanthus mariannensis grows both in the volcanic soils of southern Guam, as well as the limestone that is typical of northern Guam. However, no distinctive variants or regional differences have yet been described.

Phyllanthus mariannensis is one of a few Phyllanthus species native to Guam, including the endemic species P. marianus and P. saffordii. P. urinaria may also be native to the island.

Distribution and Habitat
Phyllanthus mariannensis is noted to favor abandoned clearings and edges, as well as the open savannas of the south, although it can also be found in the understory of the limestone forest.

Invertebrates
Some Phyllanthus species (especially of the sub-genus Glochidion) are known to have a mutualistic relationship with moths of the genus Epicephala. However, no Epicephala moth has yet been described for Phyllanthus mariannensis.

Several species of insect have been recovered only from Phyllanthus mariannensis on Guam, mostly from collections before World War II. These endemic insects, which are possibly host-specific, include:


 * a jumping plant louse (Trioza guama)
 * a true weevil (Swezeyella muscosa)
 * a jewel beetle (Chrysodema ventralis)
 * a leafhopper (Tartessus ochraceus)

Other insects endemic to the Marianas that have been observed on Phyllanthus mariannensis and other plant species include: a fungus weevil (Notioxenus fulgidus), a leaf beetle (Phytorus lineolatus), a bee (Halictus swezeyi), a bird grasshopper (Valanga excavata), a leafhopper (Tartessus swezeyi), a chalcid wasp (Cirrospiloideus guamensis), a true weevil (Trigonops inaequalis) , a jewel bug (Calliphara munda),, a sap beetle (Haptognathus minutus), a spittlebug (Lallemandana phalerata) [author's observations], and two capsid bugs (Aretas signatus and Aretas bifasciatus).

Birds
Phyllanthus mariannensis is one of the many native plant species whose seeds are eaten by the Micronesian starling (Aplonis opaca).

Conservation
In 1960, Raymond Fosberg described Phyllanthus mariannensis as being one of the more abundant trees in the ravine forests of southern Guam. In 1970, Benjamin Stone described it as being quite common, often volunteering in old fields.

Uses
Edwin Safford wrote in 1905 that Phyllanthus mariannensis was used by the Chamorros to make cart shafts, as the wood is very strong.

Glochidion species (subcategory of Phyllanthus) are some of the most widespread medicinal plants used among the peoples of the Pacific, typically using the leaves and bark. However, no specific medicinal uses have been recorded for Guam.

History
The French botanist, Charles Gaudichaud, extensively catalogued the flora of Guam during the 1819 expedition of Louis de Freycinet. However, Gaudichaud's 1826 botanical report does not mention the species. However, a specimen was collected by Gaudichaud and kept in the herbarium of Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, and was first described in the scientific literature in 1863 in the journal Linnaea as Glochidion marniaum Müll.Arg, attributing Johannes Müller Argoviensis as the authority for the name. Argoviensis was the conservator of the herbarium collection of de Candolle.

In 1865, the journal Flora listed Phyllanthus gaudichaudi Müll.Arg as a synonym of Glochidion marianum Müll.Arg, Through most of history, it has been referred to as Glochidion marianum (which also includes the Caroline Islands species), until the 2011 reappointment as Phyllanthus mariannensis. Plants of the World Online lists Phyllanthus mariannensis as a synonym of Glochidion marianum, although World Flora Online lists it as an accepted species.

CHamorro name
Although Gaudichaud meticulously recorded the Chamorro names of many of Guam's plants, the first record of the Chamorro name for Phyllanthus mariannensis appears to have been 1905 by American botanist William Edwin Safford, who recorded the spellings "chosgô" and "chosgû." The same spelling was applied by S.F. Glassman in 1948. The first reference to the plant as "chosga" appears to be from E.D. Merrill in 1914.

However, in 1970, Stone recorded the names chosga, chosgo, and åbas duendes. The latter name in Chamorro means "guava of the duendes," referring to the diminutive spirits of Chamorro folklore. Since guava were introduced to the Marianas from the New World, åbas duendes would necessarily be a Spanish-era name.