REPORT ON THE BOTANY OF THE ADMIRALTY ISLANDS. 229 



" In several points of the coast there are mangrove swamps, in one of which I collected three 

 species of mangroves. Where the land rises a little higher, so as not to be constantly overflowed 

 by the tide, there is a sandy beach ; and the shore is lined by various littoral trees, amongst which 

 a Barringtonia, and a tree with oval leaves and a pear-shaped fruit with a stony kernel (Ochrocarpu 

 ovalifolius, T. And.), are the most frequent. The trees overhang the sea with immense horizontal 

 branches ; and the bases of many of the trees are constantly washed by the waves ; but, neverthe- 

 less, have large woody fungi growing upon them, sometimes so low down as also to be frequently 

 immersed. The overhanging branches are loaded with epiphytes, all growing thus suspended over 

 the sea, so that I had to wade up to my middle in order to gather many of them. Amongst these 

 epiphytes are several species of orchids, five or six of which were found in flower or fruit, and a 

 plant with woody stem and flowers sessile upon it with succulent bright pink calyces. 1 Growing 

 with these is a Hymcnopliyllum in profusion, forming continuous sheets of green, a Niphobolus, and 

 a Lygodium, which twines round the branches in all directions ; whilst a Psilotum and the long 

 light-green pendent fronds of Ophioglossum pendulum hang down from the branches in bunches. 

 Further, a nearly white moss \_Leucophancs sp. ?] forms large, rounded, compact cushions, conspi- 

 cuous amongst the darker green of the other plants, and reminding me in its habit of antarctic 

 rather than tropical vegetation. Asplcnium nidus throws up its crowns of fronds in all directions 

 from the branches in great abundance; and the curious inflated boles of a Hydnophytum? many of 

 them as much as 1^ feet in diameter, are perched all about in the forks. I saw no specimens of 

 Myrmecodia armata, which occurs so commonly with Hydnophytum in Aru and the Moluccas. The 

 kind of littoral vegetation just described was seen best developed at Wyville Point. 



" At another part of the coast, in the vicinity of the small river, where the shore, being less 

 sheltered, and exposed to a heavy surf, is not encroached upon to its verge by large trees, several 

 common littoral plants occurred which were not found elsewhere; — a small trailing bean with 

 vellow flower [Vigna lutea~] ; a yellow-flowered composite, usually herbaceous, but here in places 

 formino- a woody shrub ; the large Crinum so abundant on the shores at Aru and in the Philippines ; 

 and Ipomcea biloba, which, curiously enough, was nowhere very abundant. Three species of Pandan u 

 grew here also, together with Casuarina cquisetifolia, and a white-flowered apocynaceous tree with 

 chocolate-coloured ovoid fruits, and an abundant milky juice [Cerbera odollawi]. 



" In Nares Anchorao-e, not very far from our anchorage, and close to the main island, a small 

 thickly-wooded island (Pigeon Island) is inhabited by immense numbers of a fruit-pigeon (Carpophaga 

 occanica). 3 Large numbers of these pigeons were killed ; and I preserved specimens of the fruits 

 contained in their crops, all of which fruits I failed to find or reach in the growing condition. 

 Amongst the fruits were abundance of wild nutmegs and wild coffee-berries. The various species of 

 Carpophaga must play a most important role in the distribution of plants, and especially trees, over 

 the wide region inhabited by them. The crops of the birds are found to contain an astonishing 

 quantity of fruits, some even larger than the nutmeg. Many of the fruits are entirely uninjured, 

 and quite fit for germination; and since, when wounded, and probably also often when frightened, or 

 by accident, the pigeons readily eject these fruits and constantly eject the hard kernels, these birds 

 must constantly be transporting the seeds of trees from one island to another. As soon as ever a 

 few littoral trees, such as Barringtonia, have established themselves by drifted seeds upon a fresh 



i Medinilla halogeton, S. Moor,, n. sp. 2 Hydnophytum mo* I yanum, Beccari, n. sp. 



s Carpophaga rhodinolama, Sclater, Zool. Chall. Expel., part vm. p. 31. 



