34 SCIENCE PROGRESS. 



butions to the botany of the Western Pacific can only be 

 considered as mere fragments ; but, so far as they go, 

 they indicate greater peculiarity in the Solomon Islands 

 than in the other groups. Sir Ferdinand Mueller has 

 also published many contributions to the flora of Western 

 Polynesia, especially of the New Hebrides, Loyalty and 

 Samoan groups ; but they are so scattered that it would 

 be a great labour to attempt to give an idea of what they 

 embrace. One specially interesting addition is Eucalyptus 

 Naudiniana, from New Britain, 1 an extreme outlier of the 

 great Australian forest element. 



Stewart Atoll consists of several islands, in about 

 8° 22' S. lat., and may be considered as an outlier of the 

 Solomon group. The Austrian Novara expedition 

 landed for a few hours only on Faule or Small Island, 

 where about a dozen and a half different plants were col- 

 lected, including Fimbristylis faulensis, Fleurya glab- 

 errima, Procris obovata, Schmidelia lasiostemon and Bassia 

 microcalyx, described as new. Although this island is 

 only from eight to ten feet above the mean level of the 

 sea, and only one nautical mile in circumference, it was 

 found to be covered with a luxuriant vegetation of trees 

 and shrubs ; the trees in the centre of the island being of 

 large dimensions. It is also stated that the American 

 mangrove, Rhizophora mangle, has established itself, and 

 grows most luxuriant on the lagoon side of the island. 

 This, if not an error, is exceedingly interesting, as Mr. 

 J. J. Lister collected a specimen of this species in the 

 Tonga Islands, and we could only suppose that it had 

 been accidentally introduced with ballast, because we 

 could find neither specimens nor record of any from any 

 other locality westward of America ; the common species 

 of Eastern Polynesia and the Malay Archipelago being 

 R. mucronata. 



Among the islands of the North-West Pacific recently 

 botanically explored are the Bonin group, and Sulphur 

 Island, situated a little to the south-west of Bonin. Also 



1 Australian Journal of Pharmacy, July, 1886. 



