REPORT ON TIIE BOTANY OF THE ADMIRALTY ISLANDS. 231 



they grow in the islands ; for in one canoe I saw a rattan stem in use as a cable. A young palm 

 with prickly leaf-stalks, a dried specimen of which is sent, may prove to be of a further species. 1 

 The cocoa-nut palm is, as has been before mentioned, abundant on the inhabited islands, where young 

 trees are planted by the inhabitants with great care around their villages, each youne tree bein«- 

 protected from the numerous pigs or other injury by means of a neat wicker-work cylindrical fence. 

 On the uninhabited islands cocoa-nut palms are occasionally, but not abundantly, present. The 

 natives, however, plant the palms on uninhabited islands ; for I found four or five young trees planted 

 on Observatory Island, each carefully girt at its base with a circle of stones. Cocoa-nut palms grow 

 also on the mainland, on the tops of the hill-ridges, mostly in clumps, as if one or a few trees 

 originally established had seeded others around. There can be no doubt that these plants were 

 planted by natives ; and most probably the spot occupied by each clump was inhabited at some time. 

 This part of the main island may formerly have been more thickly inhabited than it at present 

 appears to be. I saw no dwarf varieties of the cocoa-nut ; the trees are all of the common tall kind. 

 The areca palm is abundant almost everywhere on the main island. 



" The sago palm grows, as usual, socially, in swamps ; as usual, also, there is a very large pre- 

 ponderance of immature examples which have not yet begun to form a stem. Indeed, it was only in 

 one swamp that any stemmed specimens were met with at all. No doubt the natives lose no time 

 in felling all the mature trees in spots easily accessible from the coast, and very often cut them before 

 they are mature, for fear of their falling into other hands. A Cycad 2 is abundant, and grows 

 occasionally to a height of thirty feet, looking like a palm. 



" The three species of Pandanus met with are identical with the three found at the Aru Islands. 

 The two larger ones were common and striking features in the aspect of the coast vegetation. I saw 

 no bamboos in the islands, and they are not in general use amongst the natives ; but I saw a few 

 chunam boxes made of bamboo joints. 



"Amongst the large forest trees an enormous Ficus, with the usual wonderful compound stem, 

 was the most striking. A tree also with the vertical plank-like roots, a familiar phenomenon in 

 Philippine forests, was common ; but unfortunately, as usual, no specimens from the high trees 

 could be obtained. A few flowers were picked up upon the ground ; but it was found impossible to 

 make out to which tree, amongst a number of trunks, a particular blossom spread over the ground 

 belonged. Several araliaceous trees and shrubs were characteristic features of the vegetation. A 

 bright-coloured Colcus was amongst the few terrestrial herbs. A Draccena, often beautifully reddened, 

 was common; but no brilliant crotons were seen. A bright-flowered malvaceous tree (The&pesia 

 populnea) was amongst the littoral trees. Possibly this yields fibres for ropes, &c, to the natives. 



" Fungi were abundant on the dead wood in the swamps and woods ; and a considerable number 

 of forms were collected, some of which, I think, are of special interest. 3 



" Seaweeds were cast up on the shores at every tide in great abundance, and yielded a greater 

 variety of species than had before been met with by me on tropical coral coasts." 



From Mr Moseley's sketch, and the following list of the plants collected, we can form 

 some idea of how much remains to be done in the investigation of the flora of the 

 Admiralty Islands. The table below is limited to the species of flowering plants which 

 could be named with certainty. 



1 This has not been found. 2 Cycas eircimlU, Linn. 



3 A considerable proportion of the species collected were previously unknown. 



