212 VAUGHAN MacCAUGHEY 



The fruits contain a red dye, the roots a yellow coloring prin- 

 ciple. The tree was formerly cultivated as a dye-plant by most 

 Pacific and southern Asian peoples. The leaves and fruits were 

 also used medicinally. The dye morindian resembles the color- 

 ing principle in madder. In the East Indies the root is called at, 

 n India it is known as ach. There has been considerable con- 

 fusion in the literature as to the status of the so-called Morinda 

 tinctoria Roxb., of India. The consensus of opinion now is that 

 tinctoria is merely a variety of ciirifolia, or perhaps identical with 

 the latter. In India the tree is. raised commercially on a large 

 scale as a dye crop. It is planted from seed or from stem cut- 

 tings. At the expiration of three and one-half years from plant- 

 ing the trees are felled and the roots dug. The root-bark is much 

 richer in morindian than is the root-wood, so the smaller roots are 

 the most valuable for dyeing. The roots are cut into short lengths 

 and then split lengthwise into three pieces. These are ground into 

 powder in a crude hand-mill. The cloth is dyed by being boiled 

 with this powder; the resultant color is a dull red. The Hawai- 

 ians used the Noni for dyeing their kapa or bark cloth. 



A feature of the seed of No?ii that is of special interest is the 

 highly specialized floating bladder, with a water-tight wall, in 

 which the seed is suspended. By this means the seed is able to 

 endure prolonged flotation upon the ocean currents. It should be 

 remarked, however, that the Noni is very rare as a strand plant 

 on the Hawaiian Islands, and gives no evidence of marine trans- 

 portation in these islands. The writer, during nine years resi- 

 dence and exploration in this group, has never found germinating 

 seeds of Morinda ciirifolia along the Hawaiian littoral. 



A variety, bracteata Hook., is described as having stipules more 

 acute than the species; calyx-limb often with a lanceolate or 

 spathulate white leafy limb, sometimes three inches long. This 

 is not known in the Hawaiian flora. 



The Noni occurs on the lowlands of all the islands, particularly 

 in the vicinity of present or ancient Hawaiian settlements. Al- 

 though wholly capable of resisting xerophytic conditions it reaches 

 its best development in a humid climate. It is frequent on the 

 arid wastelands as well as in the moist valleys, but rarely rises 



